The 2026 Midwest Dramatists Conference is coming to Olathe, Kansas on October 7-10. Fifty-four playwrights from around the country will convene at the Hilton Garden Inn to have their ten minute plays presented by professional local actors and adjudicated by performing arts luminaries from New York City, Palm Springs, and Louisville.
The conference will also include the second annual Inge Forum celebrating the life and work of Kansas playwright William Inge, author of Bus Stop, Picnic, and Come Back Little Sheba. The events below are free for the public to attend and will take place on the second floor ballroom of the hotel.
The reading schedule will be announced closer to the conference.
October 7-10, 2026
Hilton Garden Inn: 12080 S Strang Line Rd, Olathe, KS 66062
Adjudicators
- Palm Springs playwright/director/teacher Luke Yankee (www.lukeyankee.com);
- New York City playwright Mel Nieves (www.melnieves.com)
- Louisville, Kentucky playwright Michelle Tyrene Johnson (www.playwright-michelle-tyrene-johnson.com)
- New York City producer/director/actress Jessica Ryan (www.jessicaryancreative.com).
Attendees
Click here for a list of the conference attendees and their bios.Schedule
THESE EVENTS ARE FREE FOR THE PUBLIC TO ATTEND.
Thursday, October 8
- 9:00am-12:15pm: Readings
- 12:15pm: Lunch break
- 1:15pm-4:30pm: Readings
Friday, October 9
- 9:00am-12:15pm: Readings
- 12:15pm: Lunch break
- 1:15pm-2:45pm: Inge Forum. Reading of People in the Wind, the short play that was the genesis of Bus Stop by Kansas playwright William Inge. We will have a discussion led by our two Inge scholars, Luke Yankee and Philip Middleton Williams.
- 3:00pm-5:00pm: Inge Forum continues with insight as to how this play evolved to Bus Stop and then to the 1956 film version starring Marilyn Monroe and Eileen Heckart, directed by Joshua Logan.
Saturday, October 10
- 10:45am-12:15pm: Readings
- 12:15pm: Lunch break
- 1:45pm-4:30pm: Readings
