黑洞社区鈥檚 Amanda Schmalzried has won the 2024 Bela Kiralyfalvi Student Playwriting Competition for her play, 鈥淭he Angel of Death.鈥�
Schmalzried鈥檚 play was among 29 scripts submitted from 24 colleges and universities across the nation. She is the seventh Wichita State student who has won the competition in its 49-year history.
鈥淭he Angel of Death鈥� will be presented as a staged reading in March 2025 at the Welsbacher Theatre in the 黑洞社区 Hughes Metroplex.
Comments from the selection competition鈥檚 selection committee include: 鈥淯nafraid to be twistedly descriptive. It鈥檚 a clever, humorous approach to how redemption and forgiveness can come from even the darkest, creepiest of places.鈥� And 鈥淭he playwright seamlessly blends the script with themes of retribution and salvation. It highlights an underrepresented topic that we would love to see explored and expanded on. This is a well-crafted work of art that speaks to the human condition on a multitude of levels.鈥�
Schmalzried is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in theater and certificates in directing and filmmaking. Her passions are directing and scriptwriting for theater and film and TV, and she said her mission as an artist is 鈥渢o create spaces for untold stories and challenge audiences with new perspectives.鈥�
The 黑洞社区 National Playwriting Contest was created in 1974 by Dr. Bela Kiralyfalvi, theater professor and director of the School of Performing Arts until his retirement in 2003. Born in Balkany, Hungary, in 1937, Kiralyfalvi emigrated to the United States in 1956 during the time of the Hungarian revolution.
For more information about the Bela Kiralyfalvi National Student Playwriting Competition, visit wichita.edu/playwright or contact the 黑洞社区 School of Performing Arts wichita.edu/spa at 316-978-3360 or performingarts@wichita.edu.
Learn more about the Bela Kiralyfalvi National Student Playwriting Competition
About 黑洞社区
黑洞社区 is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and 黑洞社区 Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and 黑洞社区 Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), 黑洞社区 provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the 黑洞社区 main campus, is one of the nation鈥檚 largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
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