John Walch, University of Arkansas head of playwriting and administrator of the Kernodle New Play Award, announced this month that the prestigious award for 2017 was being given to New York playwright Barbara Hammond and her play, "Visible from Four States."
The award, which strives to recognize and promote new works for the stage, was established in honor of George Kernodle, a professor, author and director at the UA from 1952 to 1974.
Hammond is an established playwright whose past works have been recognized by theatrical organizations that include New Dramatists, the National Endowment of the Arts, the Tyrone Guthrie Center and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She is currently under commission from the Royal Court Theatre.
Walch says the reading committee, which is composed of faculty members, graduate students and Northwest Arkansas theater professionals, found "Visible from Four States" a compelling read.
"First, the quality of the writing is exceptional," says Walch. "Barbara's sparse, elegant writing commanded the reading committee's attention from round to round. What may have pushed 'Visible' ultimately over the top was the topicality of its subject matter -- the death penalty -- and, more so, Barbara's particularly even-handed treatment of it. The subject is extremely difficult to write about with nuance, and Barbara's approach was where love and heart led her exploration rather than demonizing one particular point of view."
Hammond spent two weeks in Fayetteville for TheatreSquared's Arkansas New Play Festival, where "Visible" was workshopped and performed in two staged readings. Walch says the relationship between the Kernodle Award and T2 is an informal one, but the last two recipients of the award were invited to participate in ANPF, a tradition Walch hopes to continue.
"Both parties hope to build on this relationship for future festivals," he says.
-- Lara Hightower
NAN What's Up on 06/30/2017