M.F.A. playwriting candidate Sarah Loucks in the Department of Theatre was among several University of Arkansas students and alumni to be awarded a grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance for the 2021 Artists 360 Awards.

Artists 360, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, made possible through the support of the Walton Family Foundation, is a three-year pilot program that provides grant funding and professional development opportunities to individual artists of all disciplines in the greater Northwest Arkansas area.

Grants include learning opportunities to develop entrepreneurial skills and build sustainable careers, creating a network of leading regional artists. 

"The award also comes with financial support, which helps Sarah focus on her writing and workshopping her plays, which is why she is at the University of Arkansas," said John Walch, assistant professor and head of the M.F.A. playwriting program.

Walch said an immediate example of this is an upcoming public workshop of Loucks' play Dairy Queen, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 and Sunday, Nov. 7 at Mount Sequoya in the Great Room at Sequoyah Hall.

Directed by theatre faculty member Steven Marzolf and featuring undergraduate theatre majors, the play centers on two 18-year-olds stuck working in a small-town Dairy Queen on the Fourth of July as they contemplate their own futures and personal freedom.

While the play is about adolescents finding their truth, Marzolf said "the themes of finding one's authentic self and discovering personal truth is universal. Audiences will relate to these themes, while enjoying the poignant relationship that develops and the incredibly funny banter between these two characters."

The reading of Dairy Queen is free and on a first-come, first-seated availability, with no tickets necessary. Please note that the play contains explicit language and adult subject matter.

To maintain updated COVID safety protocols, masks will be required for all audience members.