Instead of basking in their warm, sunny weather, residents cautioned newcomers like me, “It’s not like this usually,” as though we’d expect sunshine as the rule, not the exception in the future.

 Not to worry. By the time the twelfth annual Last Frontier Theatre Conference ended, neither snow nor sleet nor dark of night could dissuade me from becoming a regular attendee.

Having been to other conferences in different parts of the country, I was struck by the uniformly high quality of this one. There were no gaggles of groupies interested only in proximity to stars. Instead, there was an enormously talented group of stage luminaries connecting with acute audiences fascinated by stage magic.

 Part of the beauty of the conference lay in the invitation to the audience to respond to individual moments. Mine included the acting versatility of Marian Seldes, whose velvet purr of a voice livened her every line. Tony Kushner’s passion for justice, illuminating his work in a way that proves witty dissent doesn’t have to be an oxymoron was another.

 The list is virtually limitless. I’d like to go into detail about the contributions of playwrights Edward Albee, Romulus Linney, John Guare, and Constance Congdon but will simply observe that they were articulate about a wide range of theater issues from the complexities of transitioning words from a script into the mouths of actors to the role of drama in helping us navigate the rapids of a collective society in great turmoil.

Other features of the conference included master classes, conducted this year by Seldes and Albee, which blended the formats of lecture and question-and-answer, and daily readings of plays, most by aspiring young playwrights. The prominence of the latter is particularly gratifying because it featured seasoned veterans nurturing those who hope to enliven theater in the future.

Kushner was the recipient this year of the Edward Albee Last Frontier Playwright Award, certainly an accolade richly deserved. The body of work produced so far by this still-young man is staggering. Until this year, the BBC production of “Nicholas Nickleby” was television’s finest moment in my estimation. Nick was knocked from his perch recently by the HBO production of Kushner’s “Angels in America,” plays which I had seen on stage some years ago in New York. I can think of no other playwright who blends rage and compassion so adeptly and so movingly.

The final event was the post-conference self-analysis, a key to the reason that Last Frontier will never become formulaic. Neither actors nor playwrights risked dislocating their arms by patting themselves on the back. Civil but pointed comments had the single purpose of improving what is already excellent.

 Conferences like these are the products of efforts by greatly talented people. Prince William Sound Community College President Jo Ann C. McDowell generated the idea for Last Frontier and has been its propelling force ever since. Albee is, in a sense, its artistic director. It’s fun to see these two occasionally disagree on some issue, then arrive at a viable compromise.

To McDowell and Albee, to all the participating playwrights and actors from a voracious theater enthusiast: thank you for the feast.

Dr. Mort Maimon attended the Last Frontier Theatre Conference from June 24 to June 27, with his wife, Chancellor-designate Dr. Elaine Maimon.