Originally from Martinsville, Virginia, Powell attended the Goodman Memorial Theater School at the Art Institute of Chicago.
In the early 1960s, he moved to New York City with his friend, Lanford Wilson, both aspiring theater artists.
Powell appeared in So Long at the Fair by Wilson, and the revivals of The Futz and The Clown, for which he also made the costumes.
was offered a production as part of the New Playwright Series at the Off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre, Powell again co-starred with Miles, but this time directed by another Caffe Cino regular, Marshall W. Mason.
[9] In 1990, he took on the original role of Uncle Fred in the Circle Rep premiere of Prelude to a Kiss (play) by Craig Lucas.
In 1987 he directed the revival of William M. Hoffman’s As Is (play) at Circle Rep, a production for which he also co-designed the costumes with Susan Lyall.
In the late 1990s, he directed plays at the Cape Cod Theatre Project, including works by Carter W. Lewis, Lanford Wilson and Clark Middleton.
[2] Powell worked with American playwrights including Terrence McNally, Paula Vogel, Craig Lucas and Lanford Wilson.