ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨ senior Amanda Schmalzried's play was among 29 scripts submitted from 24 colleges and universities across the nation. She is the seventh ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨ student who has won the competition in its 49-year history.
ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨βs Amanda Schmalzried has won the 2024 Bela Kiralyfalvi Student Playwriting Competition for her play, βThe Angel of Death.β
Schmalzriedβs play was among 29 scripts submitted from 24 colleges and universities across the nation. She is the seventh ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨ student who has won the competition in its 49-year history.
βThe Angel of Deathβ will be presented as a staged reading in March 2025 at the Welsbacher Theatre in the WSU Hughes Metroplex.
Comments from the selection competitionβs selection committee include: βUnafraid to be twistedly descriptive. Itβs a clever, humorous approach to how redemption and forgiveness can come from even the darkest, creepiest of places.β And βThe 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.β
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 βto create spaces for untold stories and challenge audiences with new perspectives.β
The ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨ 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 WSU School of Performing Arts wichita.edu/spa at 316-978-3360 or performingarts@wichita.edu.
About ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨
ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨ is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨ and WSU 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), ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨ 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 ΊμΑμ½νΉΟ±¨ main campus, is one of the nationβs 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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