Kacie Koen’s plans for this summer are likely much different than what she may have imagined a year ago.
Before coming to ASMSA, Koen, a member of the Class of 2023, had plans to perhaps become a lawyer, but an information session in August 2021 on the Creative Writing Capstone piqued her interest.
During the course, she discovered a passion for playwriting. Koen excelled in the course, eventually winning first place overall in the Arts and Literature division in the 2022 Arts and Humanities Research Capstone Symposium Awards as well as first place in the Dramatic Narrative category in May. She now plans to pursue a playwriting career.
Earlier this year, she began looking for summer opportunities where she would be able to learn practical skills on a deeper level to apply to that career. Her search led her to apply — and be accepted to — two prestigious young writer workshops.
Koen is currently attending the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio Summer Residential Program, a two-week residential program where she will focus on playwriting. The Iowa program ends June 25. On the next day, Koen will attend the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference, which runs through July 9 at Sewanee, The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.
“Before I applied, I was unaware that the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio was the most prestigious program of its kind. I mainly cared about the skills I could learn from the program,” Koen said.
“After being accepted to two of the most selective writing workshops in the country, I was elated. I realized my passion for writing was valid. I was able to start sharing my work with my peers without shame or embarrassment. The confidence gained in myself and my creative ability was the most impactful award I could have ever been given.”
The application process for both programs were similar. Koen was required to submit a writing sample of an original work, essays about theatre as a craft and a statement of purpose. For the writing sample, she submitted an excerpt of a play that was included in her symposium portfolio. She then had to wait and see whether she would be accepted.
Koen heard back from the Sewanee program first. It was the first acknowledgement of her talent as a writer that she received outside of the classroom.
“Before these acceptances, I doubted myself as a writer. I wanted that outside validation that many other writers are given later in their careers, but I was not at that stage in my journey yet. Sewanee was the first acceptance/award that confirmed my validity as an artist.”
Even after her acceptance to the Sewanee program, she was still nervous about whether she would be accepted for the Iowa program, especially after learning about its outstanding reputation.
“I started to get anxious about the application, and I would check their website regularly to daydream about what my summer would be like if I did get accepted. When I found out about my acceptance, I had already told my mom that there was ‘no shot’ I would get in, considering I had just go into SYWC,” she said.
Koen tried to use her acceptance to the Sewanee camp as a buffer to cushion the blow of an expected denial from the Iowa program. She was on the bus during an overnight band trip when she received an acceptance email from the Iowa program.
“I practically screamed in joy whenever I saw that I was accepted. I kept rereading the email all day after I received it, hoping it wasn’t a late April Fools’ joke,” she said.
The two summer programs are another opportunity for Koen to share her work with others and get feedback from her peers and from professionals. She said having the opportunity to receive that kind of feedback during the Creative Writing Capstone class was important in her writing development. Workshop days in the class allowed students to share part of pieces they were working on and receive feedback from their fellow students and the course instructors — James Katowich and Brian Isbell.
“My capstone’s periodic workshops helped me realize faults in my plays that were not initially obvious to me while writing,” Koen said. “Many of the crucial edits that I made to my current feature-length play are dedicated to these workshops. Although at times they were nerve-wracking, I feel like as a writer I have learned how to communicate ideas on revision well through those workshops.
“My instructors are the entire reasons that my work has grown to the quality that it is now. Both Mr. Katowich and Mr. Isbell have helped me grow my reading tastes, brainstorm ideas for current works and revise works that I already put time and effort into. I have learned how to become a better writer because of their individual advice. I would not be nearly as passionate as I am about writing if I was not part of their capstone.”
Koen didn’t expect to find rich opportunities in the artistic side of ASMSA’s humanities program when she first arrived at the school. Now she can’t wait to pursue a career as a playwright, she said.
“Looking back at the person I was when I first applied to ASMSA, I am glad that I was given these opportunities in the humanities fields. I am both a better academic and a more complete person because of it,” she said.
“I would never have been able to truly pursue my lifelong passion for writing if it wasn’t for the opportunities offered at this school. Either for my lack of confidence in my ability, lack of available instruction in creative writing at my sending school or lack of financial ability to attend creative programs, I would not have been able to fully pursue playwriting if it wasn’t for my education at ASMSA.”