KCMPT Announces Director Of New Play Development

KC Melting Pot Theatre (KCMPT) in Kansas City announced that Lewis J. Morrow joins KCMPT as the Director of New Play Development. Artistic Director Nicole Hodges Persley describes Morrow's rise from local to nationally recognized artist: "After developing Lewis' work at KCMPT and watching him gain national recognition, we are delighted to have him at the helm of this new project to help identify new playwrights of color."

Morrow's first initiative is to launch a short play festival. The winning playwright's play will receive a workshop production and five finalists will be selected to have their work produced in staged readings and workshops.

Morrow states "KC Melting Pot is truly my second home. I been given an opportunity to create and tell my stories as a playwright at KCMPT and will now have the chance to help other emerging artists from across the country discover the work that KC Melting Pot is doing to increase artist representation in Kansas City and beyond. As an early career playwright, one of my biggest goals is to help create a platform for other artists who are seeking an outlet for their craft. I'm extremely excited and grateful to be named as Director of New Play Development. My vision is to develop as many new voices as we can and to help them be seen and prepared to work professionally in the theater industry."

Lewis J. Morrow is an actor and playwright. A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Morrow's plays include The Doves & Darkness, Look What the Fire Did, Elephant, The Little Bit You Can Do and Be Like Water. His workshop production of Ain't No Such Thing as Midnight Black was produced in the KCMPT 2018/2019 season and his new play, Baybra's Tulips, will close the KCMPT 2019-2020 "Greatest Hits of Black Theatre" season. Lewis Morrow's plays have been finalists at the MOJOAA Festival, the Detroit New Works festival, Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) New Play Development series and most recently a winner of the Wichita Community Theatre Reader Series. His plays have been produced nationally in North Carolina, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, California, and Florida with forthcoming productions in England and Poland.