The collection of plays is titled "A Complex Evening," as some of the plays are from the series that Inge wrote for "Complex." Casting is underway and some additional shorter pieces by Inge may also be introduced in the evening's entertainment.
Director Carpenter served as Associate Artistic Director for the Tony award-winning Old Globe Theater for seven seasons. Last year, Carpenter was one of a select few nominees nationwide for the Alan Schneider award at Theater Communications Group, and the Mike Ockrent Fellowship at the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the foremost trade associations honoring directors' work. Casting is underway.
"A Complex Evening," the world premiere of several short plays by William Inge, is the official opener of the 28th Annual William Inge Theatre Festival.
Performance time is 7:30 p.m. Wed. April 22 at the William Inge Theatre, located at Independence Community College.
Thursday, April 23, is the concert reading of a new play by Chicago-based playwright Carlos Murillo. It is titled "Diagram of a Paper Airplane" and features guest professional performers.
All the special guests gather with theater patrons on Friday, April 24, for a gala dinner and silent auction, starting at 6 p.m. at the Independence Civic Center.
The festival climaxes Saturday, April 25, at the Tribute to Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. The duo will be presented with the Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award, in recognition of their many musical creations. These include "The Fantasticks," "110 in the Shade," and "I Do! I Do!" among many.
Tickets go on sale online March 1 at www.ingefestival.org. Or they are available after that date by calling (800) 842-6063 ext. 5491 or (620) 332-5491. Independence, Kansas, is located 90 miles north of Tulsa, Okla., and 120 miles south of Kansas City, Mo.
Major supporters of the William Inge Center for the Arts, sponsor of the William Inge Theatre Festival, include: the Kansas Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Hallmark Corporation, the William T. Kemper Foundation, Commerce Bank, Trustee.
Peter Ellenstein (Artistic Director), prior to coming to the Inge Festival in August 2001, served as producing director of the Los Angeles Repertory and worked as a producer, director and actor in theatre, film and television for 25+ years. He has directed professionally all over the country, from small theatre to Broadway. He has aided the development of scores of new plays. He has taught acting, directing, voice and musical theatre at all levels. He has served on the Governing Council of the Association of Theatre for High Education and on the Board of Governors of TheatreLA in Los Angeles. Ellenstein is a founding member of Southern California Arts Coalition, served as a site visitor for the NEA and California Arts Council, and a grant panelist for the NEA and the Kansas Arts Commission. Part of a theatrical family, his father is actor/director Robert Ellenstein. His brother David is Artistic Director of North Coast Repertory in California. He studied with many legendary teachers. He has an MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Karen Carpenter, a theater artist of varied pursuits, served as Associate Artistic Director for
the Tony award-winning Old Globe Theater for seven seasons. In 2007, Carpenter was a nominee for the prestigious Alan Schneider award at TCG, and the Mike Ockrent Fellowship at the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. At the Old Globe, Carpenter's award-winning direction included: the American premiere of Nilo Cruz's TWO SISTERS AND A PIANO, Jeffrey Hatcher's SMASH, and Harold Pinter's BETRAYAL. Carpenter also collaborated as artistic producer on many premieres by luminaries as Mark Lamos, Jeffrey Hatcher, Dan Sullivan, Tom Stoppard, Nora Ephron, Marvin Hamlisch, and Arthur Miller (in the last production of his life), featuring such renowned actors as Cherry Jones, John Lithgow, Harry Groener, and Tom McGowan. Last season, Carpenter directed Paper Mill Playhouse's hit, STEEL MAGNOLIAS, and Lori Fischer's GREENER PASTURES at The Public Theatre. For the past three years, Carpenter has made her work with writers on premiere presentations of their new works a priority.
Marcel LaFlamme is the curator of the William Inge Collection at Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas. Originally from Massachusetts, LaFlamme earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 2005, before training as a librarian and archivist at the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science. At Simmons, LaFlamme served as co-chair for the Progressive Librarians Guild, and he was awarded the 2007 Miriam Braverman Prize for excellence in graduate-level writing on the subject of librarianship and social responsibility. He has a deep-seated interest in the literature and culture of the Great Plains, and in April 2008 he presented the first scholarly assessment of Kansas novelist Scott Heim at a symposium sponsored by the University of Nebraska's Center for Great Plains Studies. He currently lives two blocks away from William Inge's boyhood home.
