William Inge Center to Welcome Four Playwrights for Summer 2015 'Playwright Discovery' Program

The William Inge Center for the Arts has enlisted four (4) very talented and accomplished playwrights from across the country, to be in residence for two weeks each, beginning June 8th, through the end of July. The playwrights will teach in the Inge Center's new summer program, Playwright Discovery, specifically designed to meet the needs of more than 120 underserved and challenged SED youth from throughout South East Kansas, ages 5-13. The program enables them to explore their disability experience through the art of script writing, and to express their own stories onstage.

The final week of the Playwright Discovery Program will culminate in QuestFest, a Festival performance in which all of the PDP participants will perform, at 6:00 p.m., August 5, 2015, on the stage of Memorial Hall. QuestFest use of Memorial Hall is sponsored by the City of Independence.

This program is made possible thanks to an initial Recognition Grant of $15,000 from the Kansas Health Foundation, and additional support from Four County Mental Health Center, Inc. (FCMHC), headquartered in Independence, KS. This project expands the Inge Center's pilot 2014 Kennedy Center for the Arts Very Special Arts program to four times the size and duration, because FCMH officials reported strongly positive results from youth participants and caseworkers involved last year.

Recognition Grants expand the Kansas Health Foundation's support to a broad range of health-related organizations throughout the state. The program is targeted for organizations and agencies proposing meaningful and charitable projects or initiatives that fit within the Foundation's mission of improving the health of all Kansans. In addition to supporting projects, the Foundation also seeks to support initiatives that focus on promoting policy, systems and environmental transformations that support health.

"Each year we are amazed at the incredible projects being done by organizations across Kansas," said Steve Coen, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation. "This grant program allows us to support these innovative and impactful community initiatives and recognize the groups and individuals making them a reality."

Meet the Playwrights:

Richard "Beau" O'Reilly, a Chicago playwright and actor, will be in Independence for the first two weeks of the program, beginning June 6th through the 20th, and working with participants ages 10-11. Beau teachers in the MFA writing program of the Art institute of Chicago, is co-founder of the Curious Theater Branch in Chicago, and co-curator of the Rhinoceros Theater Festival.

Jennifer Fawcett is a playwright, actor, teacher and co-founder of Working Group Theatre (WGT) based in Iowa City and will be in Independence, June 20th thru July 4th, working with program participants ages 11-13. WGT creates original plays about issues affecting the community. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Iowa MFA Playwrights Workshop, her plays have been produced at the Tennessee Women's Theater Project (Nashville), The Drilling Company (New York), Riverside Theatre (Iowa City), Available Light Theatre (Columbus), the Adirondack Theatre Festival (Glens Falls, NY), Alcyone Festival (Chicago), Theatre Masters (Aspen/West Palm Beach), the Hatchery Festival (Washington, DC) and in festivals across Canada. She is the winner of the Kennedy Center National Science Playwriting Award, and with Working Group received the 2014 NEFA National Theatre Project Award. She has just returned from Berkeley Rep where she and past Inge Fellow, Sean Lewis, developed a new play in the Ground Floor Summer Residency Lab.

Lindsay Porter is a writer, actor, director and teacher who has been working in Chicago for over 20 years. She has been a facilitator for the Persephone Project, a play-writing and performance workshop for incarcerated women, since 2008. She also served as co-director of Sisters Rising, a performance and play-writing troupe comprised of formerly incarcerated women. Lindsay has directed and performed at dozens of Chicago theaters and was a founding member of Running With Scissors, where she appeared in The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon and wrote and directed her adaptation of Lysistrata. Ms. Porter will be in Independence July 5th thru the 18th working with program participants ages 5-7.

Maia Morgan takes on the final two weeks of the program for participants ages 8-9, from July 18th thru August 1st. Maia has created dozens of original performances with participants in schools, health care facilities and jails-working with Urban Gateways, Columbia College, Chicago Public Schools, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass Theater, and Lyric Opera Chicago. She's taught writing and theater to K-12 students throughout Chicago, working with special needs, autistic and deaf students, as well as in bilingual classrooms. She has designed and led professional development workshops for teachers and teaching artists alike.

The William Inge Center for the Arts was founded in 1982, on the campus of Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas, in celebration and memory of Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award-winning playwright and native son, William Inge. For 34 years, the Inge Center has produced the annual William Inge Theater Festival, a nationally-renowned event that offers educational and cultural programming. The Festival has honored many of the world's most prestigious playwrights: Arthur Miller, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson, Neil Simon and Stephen Sondheim are just a few of those who have traveled to Independence to accept the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater Award. Other honors bestowed at the Festival include the Otis Guernsey New Voices in Playwriting Award, which recognizes a peer-nominated emerging playwright, and the Margaret Goheen Award, for outstanding contributions to theater in Independence and the surrounding area. In June, 2009, The William Inge Theater Festival was named the Official State Theater Festival of Kansas. Since 2002, the Inge Center has significantly expanded its services, hosting over 50 Playwrights-in-Residence at the Inge House, enabling developmental workshops for these writers as their culminating experience, and presenting Guest Artist workshop instruction to student audiences and the general public. In partnership with The 24HR Plays Company of New York City, the Inge Center sponsors several versions of the 24-Hour Plays and 24-Hour Musicals, bringing together students from high schools and colleges in the region to collaborate, write, and present new plays, in a creatively intense pressure cooker that inspires wild artistic achievement and life-long friendships. To learn more, visit our website, www.ingecenter.org; follow us on Twitter @ingecenter; or visit our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ingecenter .

Four County Mental Health Center is a private, not-for-profit organization, founded in 1964, committed to providing comprehensive mental health services to the citizens of Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Montgomery, and Wilson Counties. Four County is funded by State and county public funds, service fees, contracts, and grants. Everyone is eligible for Four County's services. Medicare, Medicaid and most private health insurances are accepted. Fee discounts are available based on family income and the number of family members dependent on that income. Services are provided to assist individuals and families throughout their lifespan. Clinical services, including therapy, crisis intervention and medication management, serve all populations from the young child to the senior adult. Community services serve the seriously mentally ill adult or the severely emotionally disturbed child. These services are divided into two entities: Community Based Services for Children and Community Support Services for Adults. Case managers are employed by both departments. The case manager's job is to provide support and guidance to the client and family, to work with them to find services available in the community and be a support to the client so he/she will need a minimum of hospitalization and live in the least restrictive environment. Four County also focuses on prevention programs. Parent Education services provide information to assist parents in all facets of the challenges of raising children.

The Kansas Health Foundation is a private philanthropy based in Wichita, but statewide in its focus. Its mission is to improve the health of all Kansans. To achieve this, the Foundation promotes health and wellness in schools, neighborhoods and workplaces. Grows leaders in Kansas communities. Inspires decision makers. Acts as a voice for healthy public policy. And starts and fosters community philanthropy that will see its mission thrive for generations. Together with grantees and partners, the foundation's goals include making Kansas the healthiest, most productive, most livable state in the nation. To learn more, please visit www.kansashealth.org; follow us on Twitter @KansasHealthOrg; or visit Facebook.com/KansasHealthFoundation.