The William Inge Festival Foundation, a 501(c)3, working with the William Inge Center for the Arts at Independence Community College, continues striving to support playwrights, playwriting, and maintain the legacy of William Inge, Pulitzer Prize winning hometown playwright. Donors play a leading role in helping us achieve our goals.
- William Inge’s Boyhood Home at 514 N. 4th Street in Independence, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is owned by the Inge Foundation. The home is the residence of the Inge Center’s Playwrights-in-Residence who live there as they write and workshop a play and give back by teaching playwriting in local high schools. A home built in 1895, such as this one, needs constant maintenance to aid in maintaining Inge’s legacy.
- Invaluable footage from past festivals and unedited interviews of honored playwrights, their counterparts, and contemporaries comprising hundreds of hours of footage has been saved through a cooperative effort of Independence Community College and the Foundation (through its donations) to digitize the Inge Collection. While some digitization work is still to be done, the bulk of the collection has been saved. Through a grant awarded to the college, and more needed funds, work continues to ensure public access for educational, research, and entertainment purposes.
- The Inge Foundation funds the High School Acting Competition and this year has expanded to include a playwriting competition. The winners are recipients of scholarship money, plus the college awards them scholarships upon graduation.
- The 42nd William Inge Festival celebrates John Patrick Stanley as its Honoree. Stanley, a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright will join the Festival April 17-19, 2025.
Please consider helping our cause. Donations may be sent to the William Inge Foundation, c/o Community National Bank, PO Box 1214, Independence, KS. 67301 or to set up a recurring monthly donation, contact Janet Tucker at janet.tucker@communitynational.net or Tom Sewell, treasurer at tom@tsewellcpa.com. An online donation is welcomed by working through “Betterworld” from this page.
Thanks to your support, dreams and ideas spring to life on the stage and in classrooms, that impact the American theater in Kansas and beyond.
Todd Young, President, and Dee Byrd-Molnar, Director