Hot Off The Page! Closes Drama Department's Studio Series

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The department of drama in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences presents the Hot Off the Page! New Play Festival, two nights of new works from by the next generation of American playwrights. These new works by master of arts playwriting students Robert Flaherty Hart, Rachel Lynett Washington, Brittany K. Taylor and Betty Anderson may be seen Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5, in Kimpel Hall’s Studio 404.

Audience members will be among the first to see these scripts and will be encouraged to give feedback directly to the writers following each reading. Each night features two different performances.

Friday, April 4

• 6:30 p.m. – An untitled new work by Betty Anderson
• 7:30 p.m. – Poor Relations by Robert Flaherty Hart

Saturday, April 5

• 6:30 p.m. – Kill/Shot by Rachel Washington
• 7:30 p.m. – V is for Violin by Brittany Kay Taylor

Anderson is an Arkansas native and first year master of fine arts playwright candidate. For years she has worked on her one-woman show, Sitting on the Flat Side of a Dime, Swinging my Legs, which tells the story of her experiences during the Civil Rights Movement.

Hart is a Kansas City native who earned his bachelor of arts in theatre from Emporia State University. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas master of fine arts acting program and a current student in the playwriting program. Although he worked for many years as a professional writer, he has only recently begun to explore the world of dramatic writing. Poor Relations, which deals with the complicated relationships among three adult siblings, is his first full-length play.

Washington, a second-year master of fine arts playwright candidate approaches playwriting from a pragmatic style. She hopes the social and political issues raised in her play, Kill/Shot, awaken discussions of institutional hierarchy, mental illness, homosexuality and gun control in America.

Taylor is a second year master of fine arts playwright candidate. She began writing V is for Violin when she was only 19. This is the second reading for the script, which was first featured in the department of drama's 2013 New Play Festival. It raises questions of responsibility, joy and our social response to poverty and family relationship.

The department of drama’s annual New Play Festival has previously been featured in the summer months alongside other class projects. This is the first time that it is being presented during the academic year and on campus. The festival will take place in Kimpel Hall’s Studio 404 on the University of Arkansas campus. There is no admission charge. Seating is limited.