Braswell, John, 1939-1989.

John Braswell was born on March 16, 1939 in Paxton, Illinois. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana before coming to Sarah Lawrence College to study theatre in 1958. Upon completion of his M.F.A. in 1959, Braswell was appointed to the Sarah Lawrence theatre faculty, where he co-developed the theatre workshop program with Wilford Leach. In addition to his tenure at Sarah Lawrence, Braswell co-founded and co-directed the ETC Company/La Mama, where many of his plays were performed. Until his death, Braswell had remained open about both his homosexuality and his diagnosis of AIDS, even announcing it to the theatre department. He died February 14, 1989 of complications from AIDS in Champagne, Illinois.