Conference History

Dr. Jo Ann C. McDowell was associated with the prestigious William Inge Festival in Independence, Kan., during its early formative decade while serving as president and vice president of Independence Community College. Dr. McDowell credits her former teacher, mentor and longtime associate and friend Margaret Goheen for inspiring her love for theatre. Goheen served as founder and executive director of the William Inge Festival from its inception in 1981 until her death in 1990. Dr. McDowell credits Goheen for teaching her the value of a theatre conference/festival. She worked side by side with Goheen and stated, "it was like a graduate course in theatre every day. I loved Margaret as family and feel her presence in every decision I have made concerning the Conference."

In 1992, Dr. McDowell became president of Prince William Sound Community College in Valdez, Alaska. In the fall of 1992, Dr. McDowell called on past acquaintances and friends Edward Albee and Marshall W. Mason to participate in the first Prince William Sound Community College Theatre Conference, which was held in August 1993. They began a collaborative project to produce a nationally recognized theatre conference in Alaska. As a result, Albee and Dr. McDowell held the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Alaska for 12 years. Their commitment made the transition to a new frontier with the first annual Great Plains Theatre Conference held in 2006. Dr. McDowell began as the president of Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb., in 2005.

The Great Plains Theatre Conference continues to embody the quest for an important, enduring discussion of theatre at the national level. The Conference seeks to foster educational opportunities for developing playwrights, directors and actors and to bring serious theatre to new audiences, thereby stimulating the appreciation and preservation of the theatre arts in our culture.

Dr. McDowell was named president emerita at Metropolitan Community College´s May 10th graduation, a title she also holds at Prince William Sound Community College. In her remarks that day, she stated, "I have enjoyed this life´s journey, especially my 27 years of work with America´s premiere playwrights." Dr. McDowell received the Alaska Governor´s Art Award in 2003, and she and Goheen were presented the Kansas Governor´s Art Award for the William Inge Festival in 1988. The playwrights that Dr. McDowell has honored include:

Great Plains Theatre Conference
Arthur Kopit – 2006 Celebrating 15 Years of Past Recipients – 2007 Doug Wright – 2008

William Inge Festival	Last Frontier Theatre Conference
William Inge (posthumously) – 1982 Jerome Lawrence – 1983 William Gibson – 1984 Robert Anderson – 1985 John Patrick – 1986 Garson Kanin – 1987 Sidney Kingsley – 1988 Horton Foote – 1989 Betty Comden & Adolph Green – 1990 Edward Albee – 1991 Peter Shaffer – 1992	Edward Albee – 1993 Lanford Wilson – 1994 Terrance McNally – 1995 Arthur Miller – 1996 Robert Anderson – 1997 August Wilson – 1998 Jack Gelber – 1999 Horton Foote – 2000 John Guare – 2001 Celebrating 10 Years of Past Recipients – 2002 Romulus Linney – 2003 Tony Kushner – 2004

Directors That McDowell Has Honored
Marshal W. Mason – 1993 Joe Mantello – 1994 John Tillinger – 1995 Norman Rene (posthumously) – 1996 Scott Elliot – 1997 Mark Brokaw – 1998	Joseph Chaikin – 1999 Lawrence Sacharow – 2000 Lloyd Richards – 2001 Celebrating 10 Years of Past Recipients – 2002 Emily Mann – 2003 Mark Lamos – 2006