Conley, a professor and chairperson of the Theatre Arts department at Gallaudet University, is an award-winning playwright who has published in American Theatre, The Deaf Way II Anthology, Deaf World, Theatre For Young Audiences Today, The Tactile Mind, No Walls of Stone and Deaf American Poetry. He has two books, Broken Spokes and a new one due out in May 2009 – Vignettes of the Deaf Character and Other Plays by Gallaudet University Press.
His plays have had professional productions nationwide and internationally, including the Kennedy Center, the Boston Center for the Arts, ARBOS, the Boston Playwrights Theatre, Centerstage, the National Theatre of the Deaf, Imagination Stage, Olney Theatre, Amaryllis Theatre, Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, Omaha Diner Theatre, and off-off Broadway.
He has garnered awards from the VSA arts 2000 Playwrights Discovery Competition, the Sam Edwards Deaf Playwrights Competition, The American Deaf Drama Festival, the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, the ‘97 and ‘99 NeWorks Festival in Boston, the Laurent Clerc Cultural Fund, the Lamia Ink! International One-Page-Play Festival, a PEW/National Theatre Artist Residency grant, and the 2007-2008 Schaefer Professorship.
He holds a B.S. degree in Biomedical Photographic Communication from R.I.T., a certification as a Registered Biological Photographer (#319), an M.A. in Creative Writing/Playwriting from Boston University (where he studied with Nobel Laureate, Derek Walcott), and an M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary/Intercultural Theatre from Towson University.
He is an Associate Artist with Center Stage, an Affiliate Artist with Quest: Arts for Everyone, and an Associate member of The Dramatists Guild. Conley lives in Hanover, Maryland with his wife, Stella, son Clayton, and Kadi, their Welsh Corgi.
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