Morgan Hicks, of the U of A's Department of Theatre, will participate in the 2022 Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, Kansas.

Fresh off directing the department's spring musical, Ride the Cyclone, Hicks will serve as director for the Inge Festival's New Play Lab, where she will direct a series of 10-minute play readings as well as participate in the Scholar's Conference during the three-day festival that runs from April 21-23. 

This year, the Inge Theater Festival, celebrating its 39th anniversary, will also honor Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, who will receive the Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater Award.

When learning that one of her favorite playwrights would be in attendance to receive the Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater Award, Hicks said she was inspired to submit a proposal to present her research at the event.

Her paper, "Firing the Canon: Imagining a More Inclusive Curriculum for Secondary Schools through the work of Playwright Lynn Nottage," addresses the underrepresentation of the work of women and BIPOC artists in the traditional theatrical canon that is taught at the high school level and seeks to find a solution in the significant contribution of contemporary artists like Nottage. Her presentation is scheduled for the morning of Saturday, April 23.

While waiting for news about whether her paper would be accepted for inclusion at the festival, Hicks was also thrilled to hear from the artistic director of the festival, who she had worked with before during a new play development process, and who asked Hicks to be a co-director of this year's New Play Lab.  

Hicks was tasked with building a company of actors who could present two slates of short plays to be presented on Thursday and Friday of the festival weekend. Hicks was able to invite several U of A students to join professional actors for this exciting opportunity. Current third-year M.F.A. acting candidates Jordan Williams, Ana Miramontes and Gabriel Franco-Kull, along with undergraduate theatre students Tori Cooper and Kailan Clay will participate in the New Play Lab.

"Being able to be included in both the artistic and the scholarly tracks will make for a busy, but exciting, weekend at the festival!" Hicks said. 

When asked how she finds the time to direct, teach and attend conferences back to back, Hicks replied, "Theatre never feels like a job; it's the fuel that feeds me. Theatre is about engaging your heart and connecting with others and being constantly changed by the experience.  I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing."

Hicks is a teaching assistant professor in the Department of Theatre. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in drama at the U of A and has been a member of the Department of Theatre faculty since 2007.