The William Inge Center for the Arts will honor playwright Octavio Solis with the 2019 Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater Award. Solis will be presented with the award at the 38th annual William Inge Theater Festival, which runs May 22-25, 2019, at Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas.

“We are thrilled to recognize and celebrate Octavio Solis, one of our nation’s vital voices,” said Hannah Joyce-Hoven, producing director of the William Inge Center for the Arts. “His work is deep and soulful, and he is a generous, curious, and kind person. I look forward to welcoming him to Kansas, where I believe audiences will see themselves honored and reflected in his stories.”

Solis' plays, of which he has written over 20, include Lydia, Quixote, Se Llama Christina, Dreamlandia, El Paso Blue, Prospect, and Man of the Flesh.

“Octavio Solis strikes a beautiful balance in writing from his head and his heart,” says Bill Rauch, Oregon Shakespeare Festival artistic director, which has produced many of Solis’ plays. “His work is smart and passionate.”

In addition to OSF, his plays have been produced at theatre across the country including Yale Rep, Denver Center, San Diego Rep, and Gala Hispanic Theatre of Washington D.C. His newest play, Quixote Nuevo, was recently produced at the California Shakespeare Theatre.

Solis joins previous recipients of the award: Christopher Durang, Tina Howe, David Henry Hwang, Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, Stephen Sondheim, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, and August Wilson.

Visit Ingecenter.org for more information.