MFA Writing Student Wins Top Award at Kennedy Center

The competition was stiff for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, so the Film School was thrilled when all five of its writing students who participated in the regional competition won awards. Three of their plays were entered into a national pool of regional winners who then competed at the national level in Washington, DC.

Adam Groff was one of those regional winners with his hilarious play “Nancies.” In it, three very different mothers sit on a park bench, chatting as they watch their children play. As a finalist, he was flown to the weeklong National American College Theatre Festival in Washington, DC, where there was a staged reading of his play at the Kennedy Center by Equity actors from the DC area. He was also treated to a week of workshops with working playwrights.

When he won the Kennedy Center National Ten-Minute Play Award at the end of the week, the fun was only beginning. In addition to a cash prize, he was given a five-year membership to the Dramatist’s Guild, publication of his play, and a free ride to the O’Neill Playwright’s Conference in Connecticut for two weeks in July.

“It’s a sweet deal,” says Groff. “I’m still reeling.”

While all of us at the Film School are proud and happy, none of us are surprised. Groff and his classmates are a talented group, and we know we’ll be hearing  about sweet deals from Groff and the gang for years to come.