Listen up theatre people:
there is a fantastic opportunity to come together with fellow playwrights, actors, directors and theatre lovers once a year in, of all places, Kansas. Yes Kansas -- more specifically, Independence, home of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and Oscar winning screenwriter William Inge. Every April, Independence hosts the William Inge Theatre Festival, coordinated by the arts center named in his honor.
This year was the 27th annual festival, and playwright Christopher Durang was the honoree. Adam Bock was the winner of the Otis Guernsey New Voices in Playwriting Award, and writers in residence Alice Tuan and Adam Kraar led workshops as well.
The festival begins on a Wednesday and runs through Saturday. This year it was held April 23-26. Most of the events are on the campus of Independence Community College, and some events are held at other locations in town. Things started with a production of Inge’s play Picnic, directed by Michele Pawk, on April 23.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday were filled with various workshops. The main problem was that some workshops were scheduled concurrently, so you couldn’t attend everything. The highlight of my festival experience was Christopher Durang’s master playwriting class. He shared the first two scenes of his newest play and also imparted words of wisdom. In Alice Tuan’s workshop, I was inspired to start a new piece.
Thursday evening there was a staged reading of The Flowers by the Otis Guernsey award winner Adam Bock, followed by the awards presentation. There was a gala dinner and auction held in downtown Independence on Friday. There was also a special screening of Inge’s Oscar winner, Splendor in the Grass, starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty. Saturday evening, the main event was the tribute to the honored playwright, followed by the awards presentation.
There were also opportunities to see scenes presented by scholarship-winning college students staged in William Inge’s boyhood home. Scenes were selected from previously honored playwrights or an Inge play and students competed for the scholarships at regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre festivals across the country. There were also opportunities to learn more about Inge during special sessions with his biographer, during a driving tour of Independence, or by checking out the library’s collection of his work.
This is the second time I attended the festival and it was as fabulous as the first time. I learned something in every workshop I attended, got to actually speak to Christopher Durang (one of my idols), and got my scripts signed. Does it get any better?
If you’re interested in learning more about the William Inge Center for the Arts or the Inge Festival,check out the web site – www.ingecenter.org
