BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A play written by Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of Greek and Roman Studies Nancy Sultan was one of three selected for “New Plays from the Heartland,” a regional, one-act play competition sponsored by Heartland Theatre Company in Normal.
“I guess you could say that my lifelong love of language and spectacle stimulated my scholarly interest in Greek drama and music,” said Sultan, who has been acting in plays since she was 8 years old. Her latest play, “No Goodbyes” will be performed May 15-16 at the Heartland Theatre (One Normal Plaza, Normal). The play follows the theme of the competition, “The Patience of Patients: One Act Plays in a Private Hospital Room.” Sultan’s piece “No Goodbyes,” deals with one friend asking permission from another to die.
Playwrights from across seven states were invited to submit one-act plays for the competition. Submissions from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin were judged by directors, critics, playwrights and theater educators. These judges sent their top eight entrees to Ken Weitzman, a nationally known playwright, who chose the final three plays for a staged reading. The three qualifying playwrights will also attend a workshop with Weitzman in May.