First Draft Announces Two KANSAS Readings 3/13 & 3/20

First Draft at Charter Theater – a nonprofit organization devoted to developing theater audiences alongside new plays; supporting DC-based artists; and partnering with theaters looking to produce new work – announced today that it will present two readings this month of the new play, KANSAS by DC-based playwright Bob Bartlett.

The March readings will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13th at Theater on the Run in Arlington; and 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20th at the Arts Club of Washington. The popular First Draft series combines the reading of a play with a guided, post-show audience discussion.

"Kansas" follows the journey of an army veteran and his thirteen-year-old daughter as they set out on a drive from our nation's capital to Wichita, Kansas to murder an abortionist.

"We are very excited to be presenting this piercing snapshot of a radicalized America," said First Draft Artist Director, Leslie A. Kobylinski. "The themes explored in the play parallel our political dialogue as we run up to next fall's elections."

Bartlett's previous plays include: "Whales," "Death by Hibachi," "Kuchu Uganda," "Fallout," "Hunter Rising," and "Xphiles Unrequited." His work has been performed or developed at Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, the Lark New Play Development Center, the Kennedy Center's Page-to-Stage Festival, The Source Festival, and the Capital Fringe Festival. "Whales" was awarded runner-up for both ACTF's 2011 David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award and the Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting, is a semi-finalist for the 2012 O'Neill Playwrights Conference and a finalist for the 2011 Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, and recently received readings in Atlanta (Alliance Theater), NYC (The Lark), and Washington, DC (National New Play Network/DC Area Writers Showcase at the Kennedy Center). You can learn more about Bob and his work by visiting bob-bartlett.com .

www.firstdraft.org