Curt Dempster, Founding Artistic Director of EST, Dies at 71

Dempster founded the Ensemble Studio Theatre in 1971, where he produced or developed over 6,000 new plays, including those of Arthur Miller, Horton Foote, Wendy Wasserstein, Christopher Durang, David Mamet, and Tennessee Williams, many as part of EST’s famed Marathon of One-Act Plays. He received many awards for his work over his career, includiing an Obie in 1994.

He was also an actor, who appeared on the New York stage in The Investigation and A View From the Bridge, as well as the film Desperately Seeking Susan. Dempster was also a playwright; his
work included In Defense of Leonard Peltier and Mimosa Pudica.