American Blues Theater Names Ken Urban Recipient of the 2024 Blue Ink Award

American Blues Theater has announced the recipient of the 2024 Blue Ink Award is Ken Urban for his play The Conquered. As part of the award, Urban receives a $3,000 cash prize, a staged reading at American Blues Theater, and the opportunity to further develop his script with American Blues Theater.

A staged reading of The Conquered, directed by American Blues Theater Artistic Affiliate Dexter Bullard, will be presented this August as part of the 2024 Blue Ink Playwriting Festival, along with new work by finalists Brittany Fisher (Your Regularly Scheduled Programming), Nick Malakhow (Grit), and Sharifa Yasmin (The Devils Between Us).

Information about the staged reading, including dates and tickets, will be announced at a later date.   

2024 Blue Ink Award winner Ken Urban notes, “It’s such an honor to win for The Conquered. It’s a story that has haunted me ever since I first dreamed it up after reading THE NEW YORKER article that inspired it. Writing a thriller for the stage inspired by advances in neurotechnology always felt a little dangerous. Would an audience be into this dark mysterious story? This recognition’s greatest gift is that it means that Jane’s story resonates with people and that’s the thing every playwright is always hoping for.”

“We are thrilled to announce Ken Urban’s The Conquered as the 2024 Blue Ink Award winner,” comments Executive Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside. “This play keeps you on the edge, listening to every word and judging every silence. The intrigue, mystery, and slow tease of plot is masterful.”

About The Conquered

Jane is adrift. She suffers a recurring nightmare in which a young man breaks into her house. She looks to her husband and therapist for answers. But her quest leads to a dangerous discovery.

About Ken Urban

Ken Urban is a playwright, screenwriter and musician. His audio play VAPOR TRAIL was selected for the 2022 Tribeca Festival’s Audio Storytelling series and released as part of Playwrights Horizons’ Sound Stage that fall. His stage plays include A GUIDE FOR THE HOMESICK (Huntington Theatre Company, Trafalgar Studios in the West End), The Remains (Studio Theatre), SENSE OF AN ENDING (59E59 Theatres, London’s Theatre503), NIBBLER (The Amoralists and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), THE CORRESPONDENT (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), THE AWAKE (59E59 Theatres, Chicago’s First Floor Theater), and THE HAPPY SAD (The Public Theatre/Summer Play Festival). He is a four-time recipient of the prestigious MacDowell Fellowship. Awards include Venturous Theater Fund Finishing Commission, EST/Alfred P. Sloan Science & Technology Project Commission, Weissberger Playwriting Award, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Independent Reviewers of New England’s Award for Best New Script, Headlands Artist Residency, Millay Arts Residency, Dramatist Guild Fellowship, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship. He is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and an affiliated writer at the Playwrights’ Center. Ken wrote the screenplay for the feature-film adaptation of THE HAPPY SAD, directed by Rodney Evans. His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service/Broadway Licensing. He leads the band Occurrence and their latest albumSLOW VIOLENCE was released in April 2023. Their music has been described as “a sonic tapestry that blends elements of indie pop, electronic music and shoegaze into a seamless whole” (PLASTIC MAGAZINE) and called a band that is “thinking big” (V13). The band collaborated with choreographer Dan Safer at MIT’s Theater Arts program on a devised dance theater piece based on the album. That production was filmed and will screen in New York City and Boston. His first TV pilot THE ART OF LISTENING was optioned by ITV and Madison Wells Media. He is currently working on five new stage plays and a feature film. Ken is the Senior Lecturer of Theater Arts and Director of Dramatic Writing at MIT. He has taught writing at Harvard University, Princeton University, Tufts University and Davidson College. He lives in Washington Heights with his partner Johnny.

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