Let’s Put On a Show

Kansas City’s Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre doesn’t make any promises about its Playwrighting Intensive. But the MET will tell you that toasting the crowd at last year’s event was no less a writer than Arthur Kopit (pictured). The author of Wings and End of the World, Kopit is widely considered Broadway’s last serious playwright.
“He stood right up and thanked us and said that now he knew just what he needed to do,” recalls MET Artistic Director Karen Paisley. So she coaxed Kopit back to teach at this year’s Playwrighting Intensive.
The artists enrolled in the 48-hour program will be perfecting short plays written in recent weeks from a prompt conceived by Kopit. Tonight through Saturday, catch the plays of workshop participants staged by actors from the MET. First up is Wise Women, an all-ages comedy written by Laramie Dean; Friday features Lamp and Moth, Randall Colburn’s grown-up noir. Finally, Saturday offers the results of this week’s work: the plays that Kopit inspired and sculpted. All events start at 7:30 p.m. at 1824 Walnut. Call 816-536-9464.

Aug. 24-26, 7:30 p.m.