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Wendy Wasserstein
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
17, 1993. Ms. Wasserstein was born in Brooklyn and raised in
Manhattan. She received a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and an MFA
from The Yale School of Drama. Her off-Broadway play Uncommon
Women and Others, about eight Holyoke women facing adulthood at
the height of the women’s movement, was produced at the Phoenix
Theatre in 1978. In 1988, Ms. Wasserstein was awarded the Pulitzer
Prize, the New York Drama Critics Circle Prize, the Drama Desk
Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn
Prize, and the Tony Award for her play, The Heidi Chronicles.
The Heidi Chronicles follows witty, earnest Heidi Holland
from the unenlightened early ‘60s into the every-woman-for-herself
‘80s, when Heidi begins to feel "stranded" by the choices she’s
made. The Sisters Rosensweig opened at Lincoln Center in
October of 1992 and moved to Broadway in March of 1993 starring Jane
Alexander, Madeline Kahn, Robert Klein, and Frances McDormand under
the direction of Daniel Sullivan. Her other credits include
Isn’t It Romantic, Any Woman Can’t, Montpelier, Pa-Zazz and
Miami. For PBS’s Great Performance series, she has written
Drive, She Said and adapted John Cheever’s The Sorrows of Gin,
as well as her own Uncommon Women and Others. Ms. Wasserstein
is the author of Bachelor Girls (Knopf), a collection of
essays, and The Heidi Chronicles and Other Plays (Harcourt,
Brace Jovanovich). She serves on the Council of the Dramatists
Guild, on the Board of the British American Arts Association, and as
a member of Playwrights Horizons’ artist board. She has taught at
Columbia University and New York University, and holds an Honorary
Doctorate from Mt. Holyoke College. She served as a contributing
editor of New York Woman magazine. She conducted "A
Conversation with Wendy Wasserstein" on Friday, April 16 at 9:00
a.m. - 10:00 a.m. in the Inge Theatre. She also participated in the
panel discussions "Publishing Your Play" on Saturday, April 17 at
8:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall and "Playwrights Panel:
Past, Present, and Future" on Saturday, April 17 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:30
p.m. in the Lecture Hall.
Schedule of Events
The Twelfth Annual
William Inge Theatre Festival and Conference
Schedule of Events
April 15, 16, & 17, 1993
THURSDAY,
APRIL 15
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
1:15 P.M. - 2:15 P.M.--"MUSICAL
ADAPATATION OF INGE’S WORK." A panel discussion moderated by Gene
DeGruson, Director of Special Collections at Pittsburg State
University. Panel members included: Colby Kullman, The University of
Mississippi, and Ralph Voss, The University of Alabama. Lecture
Hall, Academic Building. FREE
2:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.--"THE
DRAMATIST’S TOOL KIT." A talk by playwright, writer, and co-editor
of The Best Plays, Jeffrey Sweet. Lecture Hall, Academic
Building. FREE
7:30 P.M.—MARGARET’S BED,
by William Inge. A staged one-act, two-character play starring
Kaitlin Hopkins, actress on NBC’s Another World, and actor
Kristofer Soul. Discussion followed with Dan Sullivan, theatre
critic and writer. William Inge Theatre, Fine Arts Building. All
seats reserved. Admission: $5.00 (ICC students free).
FRIDAY, APRIL
12
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.--
"A CONVERSATION WITH WENDY WASSERSTEIN." Ms. Wasserstein discussed
the theatre and responded to questions. Inge Theatre, Fine Arts
Building. FREE
10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M.—"WORKING
ON THE SOAPS." A panel discussion with Kaitlin Hopkins, Jeffrey
Sweet, Kristofer Soul, John Connolly and Barry Bengsten. Inge
Theatre, Fine Arts Building. FREE
11:00 A.M - 12:00 P.M.--"I
REMEMBER INGE." A panel discussion moderated by Dan Sullivan. Panel
members included John Connolly, Philip Clarkson, and Mark Minton.
William 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.—"HOW
TO AUDITION." Workshop, conducted by Jason and Stefanie Milligan.
Opened to students and adults. Music Hall, Fine Arts Bldg. FEE:
$10.00, Students $5.00 (ICC/IHS students free)
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.--"A
GALA DINNER Party at the Independence Country Club" with special
guest Senator Nancy Kassebaum. The awarding of the 1992 Margo Jones
Award and Medal. All seats reserved. $20.00
SATURDAY,
APRIL 17
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.--"PUBLISHING
YOUR PLAY." A panel discussion with Abbott VanNostrand, President of
Samuel French, Inc., play publishers; Robert Anderson, Jerome
Lawrence, Wendy Wasserstein, Peter Parnell, Otis Guernsey, and
Jeffrey Sweet. Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FEE: $10.00
(ICC students free)
10:00 A.M - 11:30 A.M.--"NEW
VOICES IN AMERICAN THEATRE: 1994." Scenes from playwright Jason
Milligan’s new play, Men in Suits. Session was directed by
Otis Guernsey. Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FEE: $10.00
(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: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE." A seminar with Wendy
Wasserstein, Jerome Lawrence, and Robert Anderson. Moderated by
David LeVine, Lecture Hall, Academic Building. FEE: $10.00
(ICC students free)
2:45 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.--"ACTING
WORKSHOP FOR ADULTS" conducted by Kaitlin Hopkins. Music Hall, Fine
Arts Building. FEE: $10.00 (ICC students free)
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 WENDY WASSERSTEIN." Excerpts were shown from Ms. Wasserstein’s
plays and tributes form friends both live and taped, and special
appearances by Broadway actors. Presentation of "THE WILLIAM INGE
FESTIVAL AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN THE AMERICAN
THEATRE," Mike Wood, producer. William Inge Theatre. All seats
reserved. $15.00 (ICC students free). All seats reserved.
Festival Participants
1993 Special Guests and Festival Participants
Robert Anderson
(Inge
Award Recipient in 1985)
was a panel member on the discussion "Publishing Your Play" on
Saturday, April 17 at 8:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall. He
also participated in the panel discussion "Playwrights Panel: Past,
Present, and Future" on Saturday, April 17 at 1:25 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
in the Lecture Hall.
See updated bio in
1998 - Stephen Sondheim.
Berry
Bengsten is an Associate
Professor of Theatre at Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS
and a Fulbright Scholar at Barking College near London in 1985. He
worked with costume designer Carol Luiken on ABC’s All My
Children for a semester sabbatical. Bengsten has done stage
design work for the Missouri Repertory Theatre and the Topeka Civic
Theatre. He was a panel member on the discussion "Working on the
Soaps" on Friday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in the Inge
Theatre.
Philip B.
Clarkson was Literary
Executor for William Inge from 1968 to 1973. A Ph.D. in Theatre from
Stanford University, Clarkson upon retirement was Professor of
Theatre and Dean of Arts and Science at State University of New
York. Besides various publications, he has written the book, A
Playwright and His Time (with and about William Inge). Clarkson
lives in Carmel, CA. He was a panel member on the discussion "I
Remember Inge" on Friday, April 16 at 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in the
Inge Theatre.
John
Connolly was a panel member
on the discussion "Working on the Soaps" on Friday, April 16 at
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in the Inge Theatre. He was also a panel
member on the discussion "I Remember Inge" on Friday, April 16 at
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in the Inge Theatre.
See updated bio in
1994 - Terrence McNally.
Gene
DeGruson was the moderator
for "Musical Adaptations of Inge’s Work" on Thursday, April 15 at
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.
See updated bio in
1995 - Arthur Miller.
Otis L. Guernsey Jr.
was a panel member on the
discussion "Publishing Your Play" on Saturday, April 17 at 8:45 a.m.
- 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall. He also directed the session "New
Voices in American Theatre" on Saturday, April 17 at 10:00 a.m. -
11:30 a.m. in the Lecture Hall.
See updated bio in
1997 - Neil Simon.
Kaitlin
Hopkins starred with
Kristofer Soul in the one-act, two-character play Margaret’s Bed
on Thursday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Inge Theatre. She was also
a panel member on the discussion "Working on the Soaps" on Friday,
April 16 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. in the Inge Theatre. She
conducted "Acting Workshop For Adults" on Saturday, April 17, at
2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Music Hall.
See updated bio in 1994 - Terrence McNally.
Senator
Nancy Landon Kassebaum, was
a special guest at the "Dinner with Stage and Screen Legends" gala
at the Independence Country Club on Friday, April 16. She was given
the "Kansas Citizen of the Arts" award from the Inge Festival
for her contribution to the arts in Kansas.
Colby
Kullman, Ph.D, is an
Assistant Professor of English at the University of Mississippi. He
is co-editor with Philip C. Kolin of Studies In American Drama,
1945-Present, as well as editor of a two-volume reference book
Theatre Companies Of The World, which was nominated for the
George Freedley Award. His degrees are from De Pauw University
(B.A.), University of Chicago (M.A.), and the University of Kansas
(Ph.D.). He participated as a panel member of "Musical Adaptations
of Inge’s Work" on Thursday, April 15 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. in
the Lecture Hall.
Jerome Lawrence
(Inge
Award recipient in 1983)
was a panel member on the discussion "Publishing Your Play" on
Saturday, April 17 at 8:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall. He
also participated in the panel discussion "Playwrights Panel: Past,
Present, and Future" on Saturday, April 17 at 1:25 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
in the Lecture Hall.
See updated bio in 1995 - Arthur
Miller.
David LeVine
moderated "Playwrights Panel:
Past, Present, and Future" on Saturday, April 17 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:30
p.m. in the Lecture Hall.
See updated bio in
1998 - Stephen Sondheim.
Dr. John
(Mike) McElhaney is a
professor of theatre at Southwest Missouri State University in
Springfield, MO. He received his B.A. and M.A. from Northwestern
University and Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has taught at
universities and directed theatre groups in California, New York,
Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina. McElhaney has served as a
member of the Arts Council Advisory Boards in Western Connecticut
and New York. He has lectured throughout the country on the subject
of the national controversy centering around the directing of the
play The Normal Heart at Southwest Missouri State University
and censorship. McElhaney participated in the panel discussion
following the staged reading of Inge’s one-act play Margaret’s
Bed.
Jason Milligan,
conducted the "How to
Audition" workshop with his wife Stefanie Milligan on Friday, April
16 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. in the Music Hall. Milligan had the
distinction of being named the first playwright chosen for "New
Voices in American Theatre," a new addition to the Inge Festival
in 1993. "New Voices" was developed by Otis L. Guernsey, Jr. and
Festival Director Jill Warford to seek out what emerging playwrights
were writing about and what they had to say. The format would
include reading scenes or a section from the new playwright's latest
work and then to encourage audience discussion about the play.
Scenes from Milligan’s play Men in Suits were read at the
"New Voices in American Theatre" on Saturday, April 17 at 10:00 a.m.
- 11:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall.
See updated bio in
1998 - Stephen Sondheim.
Stefanie
Milligan conducted "How to
Audition" with her husband Jason Milligan on Friday, April 16 at
1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. in the Music Hall.
See updated bio in
1998 - Stephen Sondheim.
Mark Minton
was secretary to William Inge during the early ‘60s when Inge moved
to California. He has worked in radio and television and also worked
in the Department of Human Resources for the State of Kansas. Raised
in Independence, Minton now resides in Pittsburg, KS. He was a panel
member on the discussion "I Remember Inge" on Friday, April 16 at
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in the Inge Theatre.
Peter
Parnell wrote the comedy
The Sorrows of Stephen, produced by the New York Shakespeare
Festival in its 1979-1980 season. An earlier work, Scooter Thomas
Makes it to the Top of the World, was presented at the O’Neill
Playwrights Conference in 1977. His play The Rise and Rise of
Daniel Rocket, which was part of Playwrights Horizons’ 1983
season, has been filmed for PBS and was the inaugural telecast of
American Playhouse’s 1986 season. His play Romance Language
was produced by Playwrights Horizons in 1984 and at the Mark Taper
Forum in 1985. Hyde in Hollywood was produced at the American
Place Theatre by Playwrights Horizons in 1989 and filmed for PBS’
American Playhouse which aired in 1991. He has been the recipient of
a Reynolds Traveling Fellowship from Dartmouth, playwrighting
commissions from the New York Theatre Workshop and the Denver
Theatre Center Company, the Nicholas Gargarin Fellowship from
Playwrights Horizons, and a grant from the National Endowment for
the Arts. Mr. Parnell was a Guggenheim Fellow in Playwriting for
1986-87. He was an Ingram Merrill Foundation fellow in 1991. He is a
visiting professor of drama at Dartmouth College and a member of the
Artistic Board of Playwrights Horizons. Last season his play
Flaubert’s Latest was produced at Playwrights Horizons. His play
An Imaginary Life, opened their 1993-94 season. He was a
panel member on the discussion "Publishing Your Play" on Saturday,
April 17 at 8:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall.
Kristopher
Soul has worked in film,
television, and theatre. He was featured as the lead character in
the NYU graduate film titled The World Against Jace and as
Sergeant Reynolds in the Amerinda film Captain Henkel. He
played the character of Mike in the ABC drama, All My Children.
In theatre, he has appeared at the Pulse Ensemble Theatre, the
Village Theatre, and the Boston University Theatre. Roles include
Claudio in Measure For Measure, Joe in Golden Boy, Dan
in Night Must Fall, and Bream in Moonchildren, among
others. Kris resides in Los Angeles and is the son of actor David
Soul. He starred with Kaitlin Hopkins in the one-act, two-character
play Margaret’s Bed on Thursday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m.
in the Inge Theatre. He was also a panel member on the discussion
"Working on the Soaps" on Friday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:00
a.m. in the Inge Theatre.
Dan Sullivan
led a discussion after the
play Margaret’s Bed on Thursday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the
Inge Theatre. He also moderated "I Remember Inge" on Friday, April
16 at 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in the Inge Theatre.
See updated bio in
1998 - Stephen Sondheim.
Jeffrey
Sweet’s plays include
Porch, The Value of Names, Ties, Stops Along the Way and
Routed. His play American Enterprise won the American
Theatre Critics Association Award for playwriting. His book for the
musical, What About Luv? won the Outer Critics Circle Award.
He has written drama, sitcoms, miniseries and TV movies for ABC,
CBS, and NBC. His script for the TV version of Pack of Lies
(written under a pseudonym) was nominated for an Emmy, and he has
also been nominated for an Emmy and a Writers Guild of America Award
for his work on One Life to Live. He has served five times on
the Tony nominating committee and has co-edited (with Otis L.
Guernsey Jr.) seven volumes of The Best Plays annual
yearbook. His book on Second City, Something Wonderful Right Away,
was called "a classic" by the Chicago Tribune. A new book, The
Dramatist’s Toolkit: The Working Writer’s Approach to Craft, was
published by Heinemann. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild,
Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Drama Desk. He presented "The
Dramatist’s Tool Kit" on Thursday, April 15 at 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
in the Lecture Hall and was a panel member on the discussion
"Working on the Soaps" on Friday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m. - 11:00
a.m. in the Inge Theatre. He was also a panel member on the
discussion "Publishing Your Play" on Saturday, April 17 at 8:45 a.m.
- 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall.
Ralph F.
Voss participated as a
panel member in "Musical Adaptations of Inge’s Work" on Thursday,
April 15 at 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.
See updated bio in 1998 - Stephen
Sondheim.
Mike Wood
was the producer of the
"Tribute To Wendy Wasserstein" on Saturday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. in
the Inge Theatre.
See updated bio in
1998 - Stephen Sondheim.
1992 Margo
Jones Award
Abbott VanNostrand: Recipient of the
1992 Margo Jones Award presented at
the Independence Country Club
on Friday, April 16
Abbott
VanNostrand (deceased 1995)
was awarded The Margo Jones Medal as a "citizen-of-the-theatre" who
has demonstrated a significant impact in the living theatre at the
Gala Dinner on Friday, April 16. Mr. VanNostrand has been associated
with Samual French since 1934 and has served as its president since
1952. Samuel French, Inc., is one of the largest play publishing
firms in the world and has offices in New York City, Toronto, and
London. Mr. VanNostrand was a member of and/or supporter of
virtually every amateur theatre presenting organization in the U.S.
and ass affiliated with the new plays program of the American
College Theatre Festival. He was also a panel member on the
discussion "Publishing Your Play" on Saturday, April 17 at 8:45 a.m.
- 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall.
Conference Scholars
1993 Conference Scholars
Conference Director:
Jackson R. Bryer, Ph.D, University of Maryland,
see updated bio in
1998 - Stephen Sondheim.
Scholars:
Philip Middleton Williams, Ph.D,
Albuquerque, NM presented "Family values in the
plays of William Inge."
John Bak, Ball State University, Muncie, IN
presented "From '10' to Quarter-Past-Eight Feet: Tennessee
Williams and William Inge, 1957."
Daryl Palmer,
The University of Akron, Akron, OH presented "Distinction, Revision,
and William Inge."
Tammy Horn,
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL presented "The Function of
Music in Come Back, Little Sheba, Bus Stop, and
Picnic."
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