Mac Wellman is a playwrighter, author, and poet. He is best known for his experimental work in the theater which rebels against theatrical conventions, often abandoning such traditional elements as plot and character altogether. In 1990, he received an Obie Award for Best New American Play (for Bad Penny, Terminal Hip, and Crowbar). In 1991, he received another Obie Award for Sincerity Forever. He has received a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers Award, and the 2003 Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement, as well as the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists award. Works includes 3 2's; or AFAR, directed by Meghan Finn at Dixon Place, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field (with composer David Lang), and 1965 UU for performer Paul Lazar and directed by Stephen Mellor at the Chocolate Factory. He has received numerous honors, including NEA, Guggenheim, and Foundation of Contemporary Arts fellowships. He received his third Obie for Lifetime Achievement.

His books include: Q's Q, a novel; A Chronicle of the Madness of Small Worlds, a volume of stories; The Difficulty of Crossing a Field, a new collection of plays. His books of poetry include Miniature (Roof), Strange Elegies (Roof), and Left Glove. He is Distinguished Professor of Play Writing at Brooklyn College.