The Wyoming Theater Festival is establishing itself as a major force in the development of new works for the American theater. The entire focus of WyoTF is aiding playwrights and musical theater teams in the creation of new work worthy of today\u2019s audiences, and shepherding these works towards full productions on stages across the nation. We consider our job unfinished until the plays we develop have found their world premieres.<\/p>\n
The audience is central to our development process. Audience reactions will often reveal which parts of an emerging play are successful and which need work. WyoTF provides that live audience experience to our theater creators. And we further serve audiences by offering a full-immersion experience into the world of the festival. Our events include back stage tours, discussions, workshops, lectures, readings, gatherings \u2013 a full program of attractions to engage, delight and stimulate theater fans, all of this taking place surrounded by one of the most beautiful landscapes in the West. For more information about the Wyoming Theater Festival, please visit the WyoTF website<\/a>.<\/p>\n WyoTF is partnering with the Sheridan College Theater Department to expose students to the world of theater outside of our home state of Wyoming. This helps mitigate the challenges theater students in our relatively isolated region face as they strive to understand today\u2019s theater and to begin to carve out careers in the field. At WyoTF, students interact with theater professionals to develop meaningful projects which are on track for production in the professional theater world. Nothing forges friendship like the crucible of new play development, and these professional associations are invaluable to students as they establish themselves after graduation. In addition, working with professionals expands students\u2019 understanding of what the theater is and what it is like to work in that world.<\/p>\n By Kenneth Jones<\/a><\/p>\n In the panhandle of Nebraska, two actresses of a certain age are making a homecoming in their small town. Jane\u2019s in from L.A. to check up on her ailing mother. Andrea\u2019s back from New York to bury her father. A romantic, rueful new comedy about the urge to be creative, the itch to move away and the ache of reconnecting with the family and feelings that you left behind. Note from Playwright: There\u2019s a small town in far western Nebraska where I have spent time, as an outsider, with people I love. Its heyday is over. Its population has dwindled to about 2,400. There is drought. Some storefronts are boarded up. Missile silos that once held weapons aimed at Russia during the Cold War have been decommissioned. An oil boom ended. Interstate I-80 diverted traffic away from Main Street long ago. A railroad cuts through town, but doesn\u2019t offer passenger service. There are farms both fallow and fertile. When I visited there, I walked around town. I browsed at a thrift shop. I took pictures of broken windows at the Wheat Growers\u2019 Hotel. I attended a church service. I shared dinners and played cards in a parlor with widows who loved to laugh and talk about their history. I was curious and inspired. I wondered about residents past and present \u2014 who left? who stayed? and why? \u2014 and it all made me think more deeply about what it means to lead a \u201ccreative life.\u201d That was the jumping off point for my writing Hollywood, Nebraska.<\/p>\n
\nEducation<\/h3>\n
\n2017 Plays \/ Performances<\/h3>\n
Hollywood, Nebraska<\/h4>\n
Another Roll of the Dice<\/h4>\n