B.A. in Political Science, History and English, University of Oklahoma (1970)
Letzeiser Award (1970) for overall excellence in academics and activities
M.F.A., University of Oklahoma (1976)
Served in the U.S. Army (1971-72)

By the time of Mark Houston's death, his best known work, the 1985 musical satire Six Women with Brain Death or Expiring Minds Want to Know, had run in 10 theaters across the nation.

Six Women with Brain Death was first produced in 1989 at the the Carpenter Square Theatre in his native Oklahoma City, and has been revived in four subsequent seasons there. The show has been running for the last seven years at The Studio Theatre in Sacramento, California – the longest-running musical in that city's history – and was presented at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina in 2003.

In addition to musicals and plays, Houston wrote many theatre pieces for children, including Reggie and the Riddle. His opera Hazel Kirke was commissioned by the Lake George Opera Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York.

He also wrote monthly cultural and political commentary for the Oklahoma Gazette in an insightful and humorous column, "Is It Just Me?"

Mark Houston died of AIDS in Oklahoma City at the age of 48 on February 28, 1995.

—adapted from Daily Oklahoman obituary

WORKS:

MUSICAL THEATRE

Six Women with Brain Death or Expiring Minds Want to Know (1985)
Written by Cheryl Benge, Christy Brandt, Rosana E. Coppedge, Valerie Fagan, Ross Freese, Mark Houston, Sandee Johnson, Peggy Pharr Wilson
Music and Lyrics by Mark Houston
Carpenter Square Theatre, Oklahoma City, OK (1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2000)
San Diego Repertory Theater, San Diego, CA
The Studio Theatre, Sacramento, CA (1997-2003 and still running)
Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Charleston, SC (2003)
published: Music Theatre International (1987)

A Tale of Harbledown
Book by Diane Sposito
Music and Lyrics by Mark Houston
Creede Repertory Theatre, Creede, CO (1982)

Changin' Lanes Book, Music and Lyrics by Mark Houston
Carpenter Square Theatre, Oklahoma City, OK (1992)
Unicorn Theatre, Kansas City, KS (1992)

OPERA

Hazel Kirke
Commissioned by Lake George Opera, Saratoga Springs, NY

CHILDREN'S THEATRE

Reggie and the Riddle

UNCOMPLETED WORKS:
Unknown

WRITINGS:
"Is It Just Me?" — a monthly column for the Oklahoma Gazette.

DISCOGRAPHY:
No professionally released recordings

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Obituary, Daily Oklahoman, March 3, 1995.
• Obituary, POZ, June-July 1995.
• Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.