Tony Award-nominated playwright Kimberly Belflower to speak at College of Fine Arts Commencement

Kimberly Belflower, a playwright and alumna of the Department of Theatre and Dance, will address the graduates of The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Fine Arts Class of 2026. The commencement ceremony will take place Friday, May 8 at 11:30 a.m. in Bass Concert Hall on the UT Austin campus.

Belflower’s most recent play, John Proctor is the Villain, was nominated for 7 Tony Awards, including Best Play. The play opened at London’s Royal Court Theatre this month, and Belflower is adapting the play for a feature film with Tina Fey and Marc Platt at Universal Pictures.

Her other plays include Lost Girl, Casey Brown’s Clown Town, Gondal, Only Reason, Saint Pigtail and The Sky Game, which have been commissioned, produced and developed by Manhattan Theatre Club, Ars Nova, Studio Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Alliance Theatre, The Farm Theatre, We the Women Collective, Peppercorn Theatre, Less Than Rent Theatre, Front Porch Arts Collective and Cohen New Works Festival, among others, as well as many colleges and universities across the country.

Belflower has also worked as a writer and narrative lead for Meow Wolf, Santa Fe's celebrated immersive arts company. She has an original television project in development at 20th Century Fox.