THEATRE

To kick off the Emerging Playwrights Program for Boston Public Schools, WFT will host a live, onstage interview with distinguished playwright and President of the Board of Young Playwrights, Inc., DAVID HENRY HWANG with WGBH arts reporter JARED BOWEN on Saturday December 8 at 1:00 pm.

DAVID HENRY HWANG is best known as the author of M. Butterfly, which won the 1988 Tony, Drama Desk, John Gassner, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and was also a finalist for the 1989 Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Hwang is the 2012 recipient of the prestigious Steinberg Award for playwrighting and has been named President of the Board of Young Playwrights, Inc. His most recent play Chinglish, a comedy about an American businessman in China, will be produced by Boston’s LyricStage Nov 30 –Dec 23 and is directed by WFT alum; Larry Coen.

The Emerging Playwrights Program for Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a new Wheelock Family Theatre (WFT) initiative designed to inspire, motivate, and support BPS students who have an aptitude for writing and a specific interest in developing their playwriting skills. In December 2012, an Advisory Board of playwrights, educators, school administrators, representatives of WFT (including its Advisory Board), and other stakeholders will be convened to offer guidance that will help ensure the program’s success. In fall 2013, the first cohort of Emerging Playwrights will participate in the program, developing and revising ten-minute plays. Staged readings of the plays will be presented at selected sites in Boston in spring 2013.

Wheelock Family Theatre is a professional, non-profit theatre associated with Actor’s Equity, the union of professional actors and stage managers. Located on the campus of Wheelock College, Wheelock Family Theatre seeks to improve the lives of children and families through the shared experience of live theatre. Since 1981, WFT has been producing children’s stories, family musicals, adult dramas, and original work including Bel Canto by Daniel Alexander Jones, The Island Project by Adrian Blue, Ben’s Trumpet by Tony Williams, and ReConstruction by Christine Rathbun.