Will Power, that is. The hip-hop playwright and performer was a Meadows Prize winner in 2010 but will start this fall as an artist-in-residence at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. It’s a new position created for the man who already helped SMU students create Alice Underground last fall and who was also a resident at the Dallas Theater Center.

The full release:

MEADOWS PRIZE-WINNING THEATRE ARTIST WILL POWER JOINS MEADOWS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS AS ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

DALLAS (SMU) – Playwright and performer Will Power has been named to a new position as Artist-in-Residence in the Division of Theatre at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts, beginning with the fall 2012 semester.

A veteran of theatre, film and television, Power has won multiple awards for his work, which bridges the gap between the spoken word of hip-hop and traditional theatre. Power spent four weeks at SMU this past fall as a winner of the 2010 Meadows Prize, the international arts residency launched by the Meadows School of the Arts in fall 2009. During his visits to SMU, Power worked with Meadows student actors and designers to create a new theatre work from the ground up. The play, Alice Underground, gave a modern spin to the tale of Alice in Wonderland and was performed in the Margo Jones Theatre.  Power also led workshops for students at Pinkston High School in West Dallas, working with a group of teens on break dancing, rhyming and emceeing; the students learned how to use their art as a means to uplift and inspire.

Power’s work in Dallas as winner of the Meadows Prize was a partnership between the Meadows School of the Arts and the Dallas Theater Center (DTC). This winter, he returned to Dallas to begin working with the DTC to write and develop a new theatre piece, Stagger Lee. He also gave a public talk at SMU as part of the Meadows School’s new Forum for Art and Urban Engagement, and met with local arts and culture leaders to talk about how artists can best engage with their communities.

As an artist-in-residence, Power will teach in the Division of Theatre and continue to work with community groups. “I’ve had a great experience working with the students in Dallas, and have been really impressed with the city and the opportunities it offers for artists,” says Power. “I’m excited to continue to engage the SMU community and the Dallas theatre community.”

“We are thrilled to have Will Power join us as an artist-in-residence,” says José Bowen, dean of the Meadows School. “During his Meadows Prize residency, he demonstrated that it is possible to work with a community, bring multiple art forms together, experiment and also produce great art. Will helped students both at SMU and Pinkston understand that they can take risks and speak in their own voice.”

A veteran of theatre, film and television, Will Power has been hailed as “the best verse playwright in America” (New York Magazine) whose work “…combines the complexity of serious drama with the visual and sonic arsenal of MTV” (The New York Times).  His searing drama Fetch Clay, Make Man, starring Ben Vereen, had its world premiere at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, N.J., in January 2010 under the direction of Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff.  Power’s adaptation of the Greek tragedy Seven Against Thebes, retitled The Seven, enjoyed a successful Off-Broadway run at the New York Theatre Workshop in 2006 and The La Jolla Playhouse in 2008. His solo show FLOW was featured in New York’s Hip Hop Theater Festival before touring nationally and internationally to critical acclaim.  Power was the 2010-2011 AETNA New Voices Fellow at Hartford Stage, where he is also under commission. His numerous awards include a United States Artist Prudential Fellowship, a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical, the TCG Peter Zeisler Memorial Award, a Jury Award for Best Theatre Performance at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, a Drama Desk Award nomination, and the Trailblazer Award from The National Black Theater Network.  Power’s numerous film and television appearances include The Steven Colbert Report (Comedy Central) and Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason (PBS). Originally from the Fillmore District in San Francisco, Will Power will be moving to Dallas from Beacon, New York, with his wife Marla and their two children.

ABOUT THE MEADOWS SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

The Meadows School of the Arts, formally established in 1969 at SMU, is one of the foremost arts education institutions in the United States. The Meadows School comprises 10 academic divisions: the Temerlin Advertising Institute, Art, Art History, Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship, Communication Studies, Dance, Film and Media Arts, Journalism, Music and Theatre.

The goal of the Meadows School is to prepare students to meet the demands of professional careers. It is also committed to providing an ongoing opportunity for all SMU students to grow in the understanding and appreciation of the arts. The Meadows School is a leader in developing innovative outreach and community engagement programs, challenging its students to make a difference locally and globally by developing connections between art entrepreneurship and social change.