Hagedorn, Jeff, 1957-1995

Biography

Jeff Hagedorn was born in Milwaukee, and attended Ripon College and the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. He also took courses at Marquette, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and United States International University, San Diego. While he initially focused on directing, he soon realized his calling as a playwright. After relocating to Chicago, he became a founding member and resident playwright for the Lionheart Gay Theatre. In 1983, his play, One, became the first publicly produced theatrical work concerning AIDS. Hagedorn provided the play to AIDS organizations across the country as a fundraiser, and in the early years of the crisis benefit performances raised more than $50,000. He also formed a production company, SYZYGY, that went on to revive Chicago's pub theater movement with quick witted plays such as The Layman's Guide to Safe Sex . Hagedorn continued to craft seminal AIDS plays as the crisis progressed, from the desperate search for medication in Crusaders, to the challenges of testing in High Risk Romance, and "safe sex" in Should Have Been A Love Play . SYZYGY actors in Chicago performed a marathon of 11 his theatrical pieces in 12 days in 1988.

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