Media contact: Bruce Peterson, (620) 332-5492

The Dramatists Guild Fund of New York City has contributed $3,000 to the William Inge Festival Foundation to support the Inge Center's Playwrights-in-Residence and new play development programs.

"The Dramatists Guild Fund is part of the Dramatists Guild of America, which represents the foremost playwrights in our nation," said Peter Ellenstein, Inge Center Artistic Director. "It is a great privilege to be selected. We are pleased to host accomplished Inge House Playwrights-in-Residence. This is the fifth year in a row that the Dramatists Guild Fund has given us a vote of confidence through its monetary support."

Inge House Playwrights-in-Residence are professionals who live in the historic William Inge boyhood home in Independence. The house features prominently in many of Inge's treasured stories, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Picnic."

The Dramatists Guild Fund mission is to aid and nurture writers for the theater; to fund non-profit theaters producing contemporary American works; and to heighten awareness, appreciation, and support of theater across the country.

The Fund makes grants to selected not-for-profit producing organizations, such as the William Inge Center, that present new work, and provides financial aid to professional dramatists experiencing personal hardships such as health-related problems.

The Dramatists Guild Fund joins additional major supporters of the William Inge Center for the Arts. These include the Kansas Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hallmark Corporation, the William T. Kemper Foundation, the William Inge Festival Foundation, Independence Community College and many corporate and private foundations and hundreds of individuals across the country.

The Inge Center is best known for its annual William Inge Theatre Festival, which is the official State Theatre Festival of Kansas. It celebrates its 29th year April 21-24. The Inge Festival features workshops with theatre veterans, professional performances, and special events. The centerpiece of the 2010 celebration is a multi-media tribute to Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel.

The Inge Center is named for the late Pulitzer Prize ("Picnic") and Oscar winning ("Splendor in the Grass") writer William Inge, a native of Independence.

For more information on Inge Center activities, visit www.ingecenter.org or call (620) 332-5492 or (800) 842-6063 ext. 5835.