1994 William Inge Honoree

13th Annual
William Inge Theatre Festival
Salutes

Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally was the recipient of "The William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre" during a special program of tribute on the stage of the William Inge Theatre on Saturday, April 16, 1994. In April of 1994, McNally’s play A Perfect Ganesh had just completed an extended run at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Other current plays were Lips Together, Teeth Apart and the Lisbon Traviata. His earlier play, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune, enjoyed great success on stage and screen. McNally wrote the screen adaptation starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. He also wrote the book for the musical adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman for which McNally won the 1993 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. His previous stage works include: It’s Only a Play; Bad Habits; the book for The Rink; The Ritz, which he also adapted for the screen; Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?; And Things that Go Bump in the Night; Hope in Faith, Hope and Charity; Next; Whiskey; and Prelude and Liebestod. His scripts for television include Andre’s Mother for American Playhouse for which he won the 1990 Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Miniseries or Special. McNally has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, and a Lucille Lortel Award. He received a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has won the Hull-Warriner Award for Bad Habits in 1974, for Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune in 1987, and for The Lisbon Traviata in 1989. A member of the Dramatists Guild Council since 1970, Mr. McNally has been vice-president since 1981. He conducted "A Conversation with Terrence McNally" on Friday, April 15 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in the Inge Theatre and participated in "Playwrights Panel: The Contemporary American Theatre" on Saturday, April 16 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.

Schedule of Events

The Thirteenth Annual
William Inge Theatre Festival and Conference
Schedule of Events, April 14, 15, & 16, 1994

 THURSDAY, APRIL 14

10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.--REGISTRATION in the Margaret Goheen Foyer of the William Inge Theatre, Fine Arts Building. FILM FESTIVAL featured "Penn Avenue to Broadway" (documentary on Inge) and other Inge films: Splendor in the Grass, Picnic, Bus Stop, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, and Come Back, Little Sheba. Fine Arts Room 1, Fine Arts Building. FREE

10:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.—WILLIAM INGE COLLECTION opened to visitors. College Library, Academic Building.

12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.--Tour of "WILLIAM INGE’S INDEPENDENCE." Met in the Margaret Goheen Foyer, Fine Arts Building. FREE

1:00 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.--"ACTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS." Session’s focus was about acting opportunities for children in television, film, stage, and commercials. Sheri Mann, actress, agent, and private coach for several young actors, and talent agent Lawrence Corsa lectured. Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FREE

2:45 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.--"DEAR MARGO, DEAR BILL: LETTERS FROM THE DAWN OF TWO CAREERS." A discussion of the letters between William Inge and Margo Jones, who produced Inge’s first play, Farther Off From Heaven, which would eventually become The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.. Dr. Ralph Voss, University of Alabama, and author of A Life of William Inge: The Strains Of Triumph lectures. Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FREE

7:30 P.M.—THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS: A REUNION." The original Broadway cast of Inge’s classic play featured cast members Pat Hingle, Teresa Wright and Eileen Heckart. Adults $10:00, Students $5.00 (ICC students free). All seats reserved. William Inge Theatre, Fine Arts Building

8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.--REGISTRATION in the Margaret Goheen Foyer of the William Inge Theatre, Fine Arts Building. THE WILLIAM INGE COLLECTION opened to visitors. College Library, Academic Building. FILM FESTIVAL continued in FA1, Fine Arts Building. (Check schedule at Registration Desk) FREE

9:00 A.M. - 10:00 A.M.--"CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN ARTS MANAGEMENT." Jim Halsey, artist manager, agent, and impresario, has 40 years experience in the music and entertainment business. Mr. Halsey spoke about what opportunities exist in the entertainment business, how to find them, and how to prepare for them. Inge Theatre, Fine Arts Building. FREE

10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M.--"A CONVERSATION WITH TERRENCE MCNALLY." Mr. McNally discussed the theatre and responded to questions. Inge Theatre, Fine Arts Building. FREE

11:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.--"ACTING IN TELEVISION AND FILM." Panel included Pat Hingle, Teresa Wright, Eileen Heckart, Shirley Knight, Judge Reinhold, and Kaitlin Hopkins. Inge Theatre, Fine Arts Building. FREE

12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M.—HONORS LUNCHEON in the Fireside Room, Student Union. FEE: $7.50

1:15 P.M. - 2:45 P.M.—WORKSHOPS: "WRITING YOUR OWN MONOLOGUES" AND "ACTING/SCENE STUDY." Workshops were conducted by Jason and Stefanie Milligan, Kaitlin Hopkins, and Judge Reinhold. Music Hall, Fine Arts Bldg. FEE: $10.00, Students $5.00

1:30 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.--SCHOLAR’S CONFERENCE with Conference Director: Dr. Jackson Bryer, The University of Maryland. Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FREE

3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.--Tour of "WILLIAM INGE’S INDEPENDENCE." Met in the Margaret Goheen Foyer, Fine Arts Bldg. FREE

7:00 P.M.--" DINNER WITH STAGE AND SCREEN LEGENDS." A Gala Dinner Party at the Independence Country Club with special guests Shirley Knight and Kansas Governor Joan Finny. The awarding of the 1993 Margo Jones Award and Medal. All seats reserved. $20.00

SATURDAY, APRIL 16

8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.--REGISTRATION in the Margaret Goheen Foyer of the William Inge Theatre, Fine Arts Bldg.

10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.--THE WILLIAM INGE COLLECTION opened to visitors. College Library, Academic Building. FILM FESTIVAL continued in Fine Arts Room 1, Fine Arts Building.

8:45 A.M. - 10:00 A.M.--"THE ART OF INGE." A panel discussion that focused on William Inge as an art collector and also as an artist himself. Moderated by John Connolly, former secretary to William Inge. Panelists included Jo Ann Kirchmaier, niece of William Inge; Paula Brown, grandniece of William Inge; and Dan Sullivan, theatre critic and Inge biographer. Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FEE: $8.00

10:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.--"NEW VOICES IN AMERICAN THEATRE: 1994." Scenes from playwright Catherine Butterfield’s new play The A-V Man. Session was directed by Jason Milligan, the 1993 "New Voices" playwright. Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FEE: $8.00 (ICC students free)

11:45 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.--"PICNIC LUNCHEON" at Riverside Park, Main Shelter House. FEE: $7.50

1:15 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.--"PLAYWRIGHTS PANEL: THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN THEATRE." A panel discussion from playwrights Robert Anderson, Jerome Lawrence, Terrence McNally, and John Patrick. Moderated by Dan Sullivan. Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FEE: $8.00 (ICC students free)

2:45 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.--"A CONVERSATION WITH BRITISH PLAYWRIGHT JOHN HOPKINS." Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FEE: $8.00

3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.--Tour of "WILLIAM INGE’S INDEPENDENCE." Met in the Margaret Goheen Foyer, Fine Arts Building. FREE

8:00 P.M.--"TRIBUTE TO TERRENCE MCNALLY." Presentation of "THE WILLIAM INGE FESTIVAL AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN THE AMERICAN THEATRE." William Inge Theatre. All seats reserved. $10.00

Festival Participants

1994 Special Guests and Festival Participants

Robert Anderson (Inge Award recipient in 1985) participated in "Playwrights Panel: The Contemporary American Theatre" on Saturday, April 16 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

Catherine Butterfield’s play The A-V Man was read as the new play for the "New Voices in American Theatre: 1994." She is an actress/writer whose full-length plays include Joined at the Head, Life in the Trees, Snowing at Delphi, The A-V Man, Altarlight, and Under My Skin. Joined at the Head had a highly successful run at the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York starring Ms. Butterfield and it also received a 1992 Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding New Play. Life in the Trees was produced at the GeVa Theatre in Rochester, NY, where it won the Davie Award for outstanding accomplishment by a playwright in regional theatre. Her one-act No Problem won the Samuel French/Double Image Short Playwriting Competition and was published by French in 1989. Snowing at Delphi was produced at the WPA Theatres in New York in the fall of l994. Other awards include the Roger L. Stevens Award for Outstanding Promise as a Playwright (Kennedy Center/American Express Fund for New American Plays). Her screenplays include M.O.W. and The Good Cause. Television credits include her rewrite of The Women of Spring Break for CBS. As an actress, she has performed extensively in regional theatre and in New York. Television credits include Picket Fences and Sisters. Film credits include Floundering with James LeGros, Ed Wood, Jr., and Johnny Depp. She also has a one-woman show entitled Bobo’s Birthday, which she has performed on both coasts. Scenes from Butterfield’s play The A-V Man were performed at the "New Voice in American Theatre: 1994" on Saturday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in the Lecture Hall.

Paula Kirchmaier Brown, grand-niece of William Inge, joined the "Art of Inge" panel on Saturday, April 16 at 8:45 a.m. in the Lecture Hall. She is a member of the Inge Festival National Advisory Board and resides in Perrysburg, Ohio.

John Connolly, secretary to William Inge for six years, chaired the "Art of Inge" panel. Connolly worked with Inge and assisted him by typing drafts of Inge’s handwritten work. Connolly recently retired as a lighting designer for ABC where he worked on "Ryan’s Hope", "Loving" and other dramas. He moderated "The Art of Inge" on Saturday, April 16 at 8:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall.

Lawrence Corsa, who is an agent with Epstein-Wykoff-Lamanna in Los Angeles, specializes mainly in young talent. His clients can be seen in commercials, television and such films as Fried Green Tomatoes, Hook, Prince of Tides, Camp Nowhere, and I Love Trouble. He conducted "Acting Opportunities for Young Professionals" on Thursday, April 14 with Sheri Mann at 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.

Joan Finney, Kansas Governor made a special guest appearance at the Dinner with Stage and Screen Legends Gala at the Independence Country Club on Friday, April 15.

Jim Halsey, Independence native and ICC alumnus, is an artist manager and talent agent. He presented "Career Opportunities in Arts Management" on Friday, April 15 at 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. in the Inge Theatre.  See updated bio in 1995 - Arthur Miller.

Pat Hingle was a panel member on "The Dark At the Top of the Stairs: A Reunion" on Thursday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Inge Theatre. He was also a panel member on "Acting in Television and Film" on Friday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m. in the Inge Theatre. See updated bio in 1995 - Arthur Miller.

John Hopkins began writing for television in the early 60’s in England. Original TV plays include A Woman Comes Home, Walk a Tight Circle, Beyond the Sunrise, and The Quiet Earth. Hopkins adapted The Gambler, a two-part serial from the novel by Dostoevsky and Smiley’s People, a six-part thriller serial from the novel by John LeCarre. His films include shared credit on Two Left Feet in 1963 and The Holcroft Covenant in 1985. Plays include This Story of Yours, Find Your Way Home, Economic Necessity, Next of Kin, Valedictorian, Losing Time, and Absent Forever. He is married to actress Shirley Knight. He presented "A Conversation With British Playwright John Hopkins" on Saturday, April 16 at 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.

Kaitlin Hopkins has appeared on stage, screen, and television and was cast in the role of Kelsey Harrison on the daytime drama Another World. Her stage credits include the portrayal of Marie in the Inge classic, Come Back, Little Sheba with her mother, Shirley Knight, at the Roundabout Theatre. She was the lead in Bill of Divorcement with Christopher Walken at the Westport Playhouse. She worked with Joanne Woodward in The Children’s Hour at the Berkshire Thearte Festival and appeared in the off-Broadway production of Johnny Pye and the Fool Killer at the Lambs Little Theatre in New York City. Film credits include Spirits, Runaway Dreams, and Turk 182. Television work includes appearances on One Life to Live, Veronica Claire, and Gabriel’s Fire. She was a panel member on "Acting in Television and Film" on Friday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m. in the Inge Theatre. She also conducted a workshop "Writing Your Own Monologues" and "Acting/Scene Study" on Friday, April 15 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. in the Music Hall.

Jo Ann Kirchmaier, niece of William Inge, served on the "Art of Inge" panel on Saturday, April, 16 at 8:45 a.m. in the Lecture Hall. From Perrysburg, Ohio, she is a member of the Inge Festival National Advisory Board. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

Jerome Lawrence participated in "Playwrights Panel: The Contemporary American Theatre" on Saturday, April 16 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall. See updated bio in 1996 - August Wilson.

David LeVine participated at the Gala Dinner on Friday, April 15 as chairman of the Margo Jones Award. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

Sheri Mann conducted "Acting Opportunities for Young Professionals" on Thursday, April 14 with Lawrence Corsa at 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall. See updated bio in 1995 -Arthur Miller.

Jason Milligan was the 1993 "Voices in American Theatre" playwright for his play Men in Suits.    He conducted a workshop "Writing Your Own Monologues" and "Acting/Scene Study" on Friday, April 15 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m in the Music Hall. He also directed the session "New Voices in American Theatre: 1994" on Saturday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

Stefanie Milligan conducted a workshop "Writing Your Own Monologues" and "Acting/Scene Study" on Friday, April 15 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m in the Music Hall. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

John Patrick (Inge Award recipient in 1986) has written over 30 plays, co-authored 19 films, adapted nine books and plays for the motion picture screen, and several works for television and is highly regarded as a craftsman. Of his plays, the best known are The Willow and I, The Hasty Heart, The Curious Savage, The Teahouse of the August Moon, and Everybody Loves Opal. The Teahouse of the August Moon, adapted from Vern Sneider’s novel, has proved to be his most durable work. It earned him a Pulitzer Prize, the Tony Award for Best Play, The Drama Critics Circle Award, The Theatre Club Award, The Donaldson Award and the Aegeis Award. Partick’s major film adaptations include The President’s Lady, Three Coins in the Fountain, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, The Teahouse of the August Moon, High Society, Les Girls (for which he won the Screenwriters Guild Award and the Foreign Correspondents Award), The World of Susie Wong, and The Shoes of the Fisherman. He is also the author of Sense and Non-Sense, a book of poetry published by Samuel French, Inc. He participated in "Playwrights Panel: The Contemporary American Theatre" on Saturday, April 16 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.

Judge Reinhold is best known for his comedic roles in such box office hits as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ruthless People, Vice Versa and Beverly Hills Cop I & II. He starred in the TNT telefilm Four Eyes and also starred opposite Rachel Ward in the Showtime film Black Magic. Born in Wilmington, DE, Judge studied drama at the University of Virginia. After studying for one year, he expanded his horizons to the Barn Theatre in Florida and over the next two years appeared in The Glass Menagerie, A Man for All Seasons, and Dracula. From the Barn Theatre, he moved on to the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre to perform in such theatrical productions as Norman, Is That You?, Love in E-Flat, Everybody Loves Opal, Barefoot in the Park, and The Owl and the Pussycat. Reinhold’s big break came in 1982 when he portrayed Brad Hamilton in Universal’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He went on to do an assortment of featured roles in The Lords of Discipline and Steven Spielberg’s Gremlins. It was his role in Paramount Picture’s smash hit Beverly Hills Cops that garnered Reinhold a considerable amount of attention and the success of this film lead him to starring roles in Off Beat with Meg Tilly, Head Office with Danny DeVito and a portrayal of a "wife-napper" in Touchstone’s Ruthless People with Bette Midler. In 1987, he reprised his policeman’s character with Beverly Hills Cops II followed by Columbia Picture’s Vice Versa with Fred Savage and Swoosie Kurtz. Immediately following was the 1990 release of Daddy’s Dyin', Who’s Got the Will? in which he played a zany, yet sweet rock ‘n roller. He was a panel member on "Acting in Television and Film" on Friday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m. in the Inge Theatre. He also conducted a workshop "Writing Your Own Monologues" and "Acting/Scene Study" on Friday, April 15 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. in the Music Hall.

Dan Sullivan participated as a panel member of "The Art of Inge" on Saturday, April 16 at 8:45 a.m. in the Lecture Hall. He was also a moderator in "Playwrights Panel: The Contemporary American Theatre" on Saturday, April 16 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

Ralph F. Voss conducted "Dear Margo, Dear Bill: Letters from the Dawn of Two Careers" on Thursday, April 14 at 2:45 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

Mike Wood produced the "Tribute to Terrence McNally" on Saturday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Inge Theatre. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

Teresa Wright made her Broadway debut as the ingenue in the original production of Life With Father and scored so notably that Samuel Goldwyn recruited her to play Alexandra in the film version of The Little Foxes. Ms. Wright returned to Broadway in William Inge’s The Dark at the Top of the Stairs. She was nominated for Academy Awards for her first three films, The Little Foxes, Pride of the Yankees, and Mrs. Miniver, and won the Oscar for her performance in Mrs. Miniver. Among her other well remembered films have been The Best Years of Our Lives, The Actress, Shadow of a Doubt, and The Men. Recent films include The Good Mother. On television, Ms. Wright was nominated for an Emmy Award for her portrayals of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker and the title role in The Margaret Bourke-White Story. One of her favorite small screen roles was in Ring Lardner Jr.’s Golden Honeymoon for the American Short Story Series on PBS. Television credits also include Murder, She Wrote, Dolphin Cove, and Perry Mason. She was a panel member on "The Dark At the Top of the Stairs: A Reunion" on Thursday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Inge Theatre and was also a panel member on "Acting in Television and Film" on Friday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m. in the Inge Theatre.

1993 Margo Jones Award

Henry Hewes: Recipient of the 1993 Margo Jones Award presented at the Independence Country Club on Friday, April 15

Henry Hewes was awarded The Margo Jones Medal as a "citizen-of-the-theatre" who has demonstrated a significant impact in the living theatre at the Dinner with Stage and Screen Legends. Hewes served as drama critic for Saturday Review and was the first New York critic to regularly review plays on Broadway, off-Broadway, nationally and internationally with equal emphasis. In 1960 he became the editor of The Best Plays Series. In 1964 he was invited by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee to chair the Margo Jones Awards Committee and continued in this capacity until 1984. He served as Executive Director of The Greater New York Chapter of the American National Theatre Academy, and played a key role in the creation of the ANTA matinee series. As president of the Drama Desk from 1958-1976 he created the first annual award for achievement in the New York Theatre season regardless of whether it occurred on Broadway or off-Broadway. In 1985 he received an Outer Critics Circle. He is a board member of the American Theatre Wing and has served as president of the New York Drama Critics Circle. Mr. Hewes was unable to attend the Festival and the award was accepted on his behalf by David LeVine, Margo Jones award chairperson.

Shirley Knight, award-winning actress and mainstay of the William Inge Festival, has participated in it in some way on seven different occasions. was presented the "Kansas Citizen of the Arts" Award at the Friday night Dinner with Stage and Screen Legends gala at the Independence Country Club. She was a panel member on "Acting in Television and Film" on Friday, April 15 at 11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m. in the Inge Theatre. See updated bio in 1995 - Arthur Miller.

Conference Scholars
 

1994 Conference Scholars 

Conference Director:
     Jackson R. Bryer, Ph. D, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen Sondheim.

Respondent:
     Philip Middleton Williams, Ph.D, Albuquerque, NM

Scholars:
     John Rindo, Ph.D, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA presented "The Characters in William Inge’s Picnic: A Playwright’s Process."
     Craig D. Clinton, Ph.D, Reed College, Portland, OR presented "Encoded Realism: The Scene Designs of William Inge."
     Lynda Linford, Utah State University, Logan, UT, presented "The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs: Anatomy of a Production."
     Jeff Johnson, Brevard Community College, Melbourne, FL presented "Pairing Off: Sexual Symmetry and Moral Balance in Bus Stop."