The career of American dramatist Sam Shepard merits acclaim for many reasons, not the least of which may be his remarkable endurance. Dating back to the tumultuous days of the early Off-Off-Broadway movement, Shepard's work first fascinated counter-culture audiences with its frenetic, lyrical outbursts and unrelenting energy. However, unlike the legion of Off- Off-Broadway playwrights whose notoriety was followed by an all too sudden eclipse, Shepard's renown continued to ascend as the coffee-house theatre scene declined. Always prolific and inventive, the playwright found persistent success despite the changing economics, production approaches, and audience tastes of the American theatre. In the three decades (and counting) since his debut at Theatre Genesis, Shepard has emerged as a phenomenon of cultural fascination, a playwright now widely produced and taught as a canonical author, an iconic figure often praised in hyperbolic terms (one critic has extolled Shepard as “after all the most original and vital playwright of our age.”) If one were to invoke metaphors drawn from Shepard's obsession with the racetrack, the playwright over the years has proven sure of stride, game and tireless, endowed with a dramatic gift comprising equal parts imagination, drive, and stamina.