Original Student Plays to be read November 18 at Inge Center

Students of the William Inge Center for the Arts Professional Playwriting Certificate Program will explore a range of dramatic styles at public readings on Thursday, November 18th. The readings will take place at the William Inge Theatre at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free.

The student playwrights presenting their new scripts include Paige Almond, David Maher, Colin Stephens, and Debby Sandoval. The evening will be directed by the Inge Center’s visiting Playwrights-in-Residence and will feature local student and community actors.
Some of the excerpts may explore adult themes; the evening is suggested for ages 16 and older.
The playwriting instructors are professional playwrights Lynne Kaufman and Adam Szymkowicz.

Lynn Kaufman was the Inge Festival’s Otis Guernsey New Voices in Playwriting award-winner in 2005. She is the author of fifteen full-length plays, three novels and dozens of short stories.

Her play "Daisy in the Dreamtime" premiered in New York City at The Abingdon Theatre and was published in Women Playwrights: Best New Plays of 2003 and by Dramatic Publishing in 2006. It was also presented by the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles as a recipient of a Hot Properties Grant from the L.A. Arts Council and The A.S.K. Foundation.
Kaufman's play "Fakes" premiered at Florida Studio Theatre and was optioned for film by 20th Century Fox and for television by Jean Doumanian Productions. "Shooting Simone" premiered at Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival and was published by Dramatic Publishing.
Adam Szymkowicz's plays have been produced throughout the U.S., and in Canada, England, The Netherlands and Lithuania. Several of his plays have been published by Dramatists Play Service and Samuel French.
He received a Playwright's Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program where he studied with Inge Festival 2008 Honoree, Christopher Durang, and next year’s 2011 Honoree Marsha Norman, and was the Dean’s Fellow. He also earned an MFA from Columbia University.
The Inge Center is best known for its annual William Inge Theatre Festival. The 30th annual festival takes place April 13-16, 2011, honoring the Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning dramatist Marsha Norman.

Additional major supporters of the William Inge Center for the Arts include the Kansas Humanities Council, Kansas Arts Commission, the Hallmark Corporation, the Dramatists Guild of New York, and Independence Community College.

The center is named for the late Pulitzer Prize (“Picnic”) and Oscar winning (“Splendor in the Grass”) writer William Inge, a native of Independence.

For more information on Inge Center activities, visit www.ingecenter.org or call (620) 332-5491 or (800) 842-6063 ext. 5835.