shops followed performances and were conducted by the guest artists themselves. “We also started a school-day matinee program featuring work of genuine substance,” says Kornhauser, noting that the inaugural year brought a company from Australia called Monkey Baa, presenting the powerful and moving play “Hitler’s Daughter.” The Studio for Students program for area students in grades K through 12 gives the youth a chance to exhibit their artwork at the exciting new Winter Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. “I have been working with the new M-Uth Theater built on a program I developed at the Fulton [Theatre] that has won recognition ranging from nine NEA grants to the PCA’s Keystones of Accessibility Award for its inclusion of youth with disabilities,” says Kornhauser. Working with city teens, the M-Uth Theater provides a venue for creative expression. Students have been working on a production about gun violence, a fitting topic in today’s world of tragic shootings. One group of teens has written a play based on the real-life story of an innocent youngster who died after being shot by gang members while looking out a window. The play is being presented in Washington, D.C., as part of the Coming Up Taller Award given by the President’s Committee on the Arts & Humanities at a White House ceremony led by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Kornhauser is surrounded by his young performers.
In Lancaster Kornhauser’s name has practically been synonymous with theater. For more than 30 years, Kornhauser worked with the Fulton Theatre in a variety of capacities, from director of theater for young audiences to playwright-in-residence. He wrote 17 plays for the Fulton, as well as collaborations with the youth theater ensemble. He has also written Tony award-winning shows for The Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institute. Kornhauser has received so many awards for his work that it’s hard to keep track of them all. A few include the Distinguished Play Award of the American Alliance for Theatre & Education, the Helen Hayes Best Play Award, the Ivey Playwriting Award and the Bonderman Award. “One of the wonderful things about my life in the arts is that it has been so varied, that I have been blessed to work with so many smart, talented and passionate people,” says Kornhauser. “It means a great deal to me to enrich people’s lives through the arts, particularly young people who have faced some seriReview Fall 2013 11