Fourteen playwrights from across the nation have been selected to have their scripts in progress presented at the New Play Lab during the 43rd William Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, Kansas, April 23–25.

“We are excited to welcome these working artists to Independence and to share their new works with the community,” said Ashley Hovell, Director of the William Inge Center for the Arts at Independence Community College and producer of the Inge Festival.

The 2026 New Play Lab writers are: Jerico Bleu, Astoria, NY; Thomas Boudreau, NYC, NY; John P. Bray, Athens, GA; Carol Croland, NYC, NY and Santa Monica, CA; Kym Fraher, Chicago, IL; Franky Gonzalez, Dallas, TX; Dan McGeehan, Chicago, IL; Vince Melocchi, Los Angeles, CA; Jim Moss, Chicago, IL; Jennifer Ramsey, Paola, KS; Lizzy Santana, Lafayette, LA; Samara Siskind, Fort Lauderdale, FL; Lolly Ward, Portland, OR; and Rachael Zake, Cleveland, OH.

Founded in 1981, the Inge Festival bestows the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in American Theatre Award; the 2026 recipient is Qui Nguyen. His plays are defined by originality and fearless storytelling, as exhibited in groundbreaking works such as Vietgone and Living Dead in Denmark. His many television and film credits include Marvel Studios, Netflix, and others. He is the writer of Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, which earned a 2022 Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.

Each New Play Lab playwright receives feedback from national theatre professionals through a professionally rehearsed reading of their play, as well as additional classes and seminars with Inge Festival guest playwrights and networking opportunities with theatre professionals from across the country.

The New Play Lab is supported by the Kansas Arts Commission. The William Inge Festival Foundation, the Independence Chamber of Commerce, and Independence Community College are major festival sponsors.

The festival’s namesake is Pulitzer Prize-winning (Picnic) and Oscar-winning (Splendor in the Grass) writer William Inge, a native of Independence, a small town in southeast Kansas. The Inge Festival is the Official Theatre Festival of the State of Kansas by proclamation of the state legislature.

For more information on the Inge Festival, visit www.ingecenter.org.