Cover for Helbing final report published January 7, 2026.: “D.R. Lewis. A Walk on the Wilder Side: A Queer Reading of Thornton Wilder. ATCA’/FATCA Helbing Mentorship Program. New York, NY..”
The Helbing Mentorship Program, established in 2021, has supported and learned from two extraordinary young writers who are establishing a brilliant foundation for this ongoing ATCA program. Inaugural Fellow Billy McEntee submitted as his final project an oral history entitled A Renaissance Man of Gay Theater: An Ode to Terry Helbing (2023), in whose name the program was launched, The program has now published the second Helbing report by D.R. Lewis entitled A Walk on the Wilder Side: A Queer Reading of Thornton Wilder (2025), considering the life and work of Thornton Wilder through a queer lens.
“The essays parse how Wilder’s various biographers have addressed his rumored same-sex attractions and relationships,” fellow Lewis summarized. Lewis in his essays sought to “explore how key characters from Our Town and The Long Christmas Dinner can be read as proxies reflecting Wilder’s perceptions of himself; and examine Wilder’s relationship to gender expression and draw parallels between the playwright and Dolly Levi, the titular character in The Matchmaker and its musical adaption, Hello, Dolly!“
Helbing committee chair Christopher Byrne mused on the program’s development to accompany the release of this newest publication. “When we created this program several years ago, it was important to us that it support projects that would otherwise be difficult to pursue. This project has been an exercise in discovery for D.R. and those of us on the committee who have mentored him through its progression. We’re all walking away with a deeper admiration for, and understanding of, Thornton Wilder’s extraordinary life and plays.”
Lewis summarized his personal and professional experiences as the second Helbing Fellow for the committee when he submitted his final report.
“As I wrote in the project’s postscript, it has never been easy to make a living as a writer. Thornton Wilder was only able to commit to his work full-time, in 1927, when he published the bestselling The Bridge of San Luis Rey at 30 years old, though he’d spent the previous decade writing seriously and many years before then honing his skills. Full-time critic positions continue to dwindle, particularly in the markets beyond New York City; in DC, where I live, we have one full-time staff theatre critic, though the region is home to nearly 90 professional theatre organizations. If our craft is to survive and thrive, opportunities for emerging critics to develop their skills are essential.
I am deeply grateful that ATCA and Foundation ATCA entrusted me with one such opportunity in the Terry Helbing Mentorship Program, which honors the life of gay theater pioneer Terry Helbing. Simply put, my work on Thornton Wilder would not have been possible without the program’s support. But the fellowship has meant much more than publishing the report (which I hope you’ll read), though it’s difficult to comprehensively encapsulate it all.
From a practical standpoint, the funding supported my travel to, and participation in, several ATCA conferences, where networking opportunities with critics and theatermakers have allowed me to build a stronger professional network. It has helped me expand my physical library of critical voices from the past, whose work I’ve studied to improve my own writing. It has enabled me to upgrade the technology I use to pursue and complete assignments. And it has afforded me wiggle room to focus on an extended project that reflects my sensibilities and interests as a critic, which I can now use as an anchoring piece of my portfolio.
Professionally, it has opened doors that are helping me build my career. The publication of this project coincides with the third anniversary of my first professional assignment, and receiving the Helbing Fellowship and carrying ATCA’s endorsement as a fairly new critic continues to inspire confidence in editors and artists. I’ve secured more work because of this fellowship, and the soft skills I’ve honed alongside the mentors—Christopher Byrne, Jay Handelman, Billy McEntee, Gerard Raymond, Frank Rizzo, and Martha Wade Steketee—have gone far in fostering stronger working relationships with my editors.
Personally, this fellowship has boosted my confidence as a critic. Chris, Jay, Billy, Gerard, Frank, and Martha have all, at various times, encouraged me to pull on the threads of my curiosity and lean into my voice. They’ve asked challenging questions, interrogated my assumptions, and pointed me in directions that expanded how I thought about this project and the works referenced within. Free from the tyranny of quick deadlines, click counts, and conversion rates, I’ve been able to read, think, write, read further, think deeper, write better, and—most satisfyingly—share and discuss it all with them. They have been excellent mentors. I am so appreciative of their collaboration in this work and am proud to now be able to call them colleagues.”
Applications for the 2026-2027 Helbing Mentorship Program will open January 21, 2026 and be accepted through April 30, 2026. For more information, visit the Helbing program page.
– Submitted by Helbing Mentorship Program committee member Martha Wade Steketee
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