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Howard Shalwitz, Associate Director of the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD) and Artistic Director Emeritus of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, is the 2014 winner of the prestigious Margo Jones Award for his lifetime commitment to new American plays.  He co-founded Woolly Mammoth in Washington, DC in 1980, and over 38 seasons built it from a tiny alternative theatre into one of the nation’s most influential producers of provocative new plays. He has directed or performed in works by American and international playwrights – at New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Horizons, Arena Stage, Portland Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Milwaukee Rep, Woolly Mammoth, and other US theatres. Over the past decade, partnering with CITD, Howard has sought new models for American theatre by engaging with artists in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Russia, and has shared his insights with the US theatre field. He currently leads LINKAGES:Poland, a multi-year CITD project to build a new generation of connections between theatre leaders in the US and Poland. He teaches about international theatre for the University of Maryland and Theater J, and is currently working on a book about the language of theatre.