The Coterie's 2017 Young Playwrights' Festival features Talented Local Teen Writers

It is The Coterie's favorite time of the year when world premiere readings from members of The Coterie's Young Playwrights' Roundtable will be showcased during the annual Young Playwrights' Festival at 7:00 p.m., May 7, at The Coterie Theatre, located on level 1 of the Crown Center Shops. On stage will be thirteen staged readings including monologues, spoken word, short plays, and excerpts from the WORDS + MUSIC project: five moments of new opera, as created by UMKC Conservatory composers in collaboration with Roundtable members, and staged with singers on the roster of the Lyric Opera.

"This year's Roundtable members were very prolific. Through the peer mentoring they did with each other, the level of work has risen to a new level that really reveals strong ability and theatrical imaginations," states facilitator Jeff Church, Coterie Producer Artistic Director, who has been facilitating Coterie Roundtables since the early 90s.

Rich and varied theatrical writings by our city's most gifted young playwrights emerge from a yearlong process. A collection of new plays is forged into an ambitious festival of script-in-hand readings. The Coterie's Young Playwrights' Roundtable features new work in a festival recognizing quality writing by young people, a highlight in The Coterie's season.

This year's festival will incorporate five musical performances and eight Roundtable scripts in two acts. All are recommended as PG-13 and are appropriate for teens through adults. The Coterie invites the public to get a fascinating insight into the minds of young adults today.

Professional directors for this year's festival are Coterie education director Amanda Kibler, William J. Christie, and Matthew Schmidli. Stage manager for the festival is Danielle Walsh. The producer and facilitator of the Festival is Jeff Church.

Admission for the Young Playwrights' Festival is $5.00 and reservations are encouraged. Reservations can be made by phone at (816) 474-6552, online at www.thecoterie.org, or in person at The Coterie Box Office. On the day of the performance, the Box Office will open at 5:00 p.m. All seating is general admission with theater doors opening 30 minutes prior to performance.

THE FESTIVAL SELECTIONS

The following is a list of productions, the playwrights, and their schools.

Selected Works for the 2017 Young Playwrights' Festival

ACT I

• Preparation by Bella Barnes (Pembroke Hill)
  A one minute play as a 19 year-old prepares to go on his first protest march.
• Cameron the Comedian by Alexandria Dains (Truman High)
  A comedian's monologue takes a turn.
• The Subject by Lawson Smead (Lansing High)
  A science fiction screenplay excerpt: this most unusual subject must be studied.
• What We Used to Be by Charlotte Ganter (Pembroke Hill)
  Jess and Emily were friends that now have gone separate ways.
• Pieces of Glass by Annaliese Schroeder (Holden High)
  In the future, the choice will be between mind and body.
• Whopper by Lawson Smead (Lansing High)
  Spoken word poetry: when you get the nickname 'the whopper.'
• The Numbers Game by De'Auan McClaine (Sumner Academy)
  Spoken word poetry: will the young black youth make it to age 18?

ACT II

• Five selections from WORDS + MUSIC, a collaboration of the Roundtable, UMKC Conservatory, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City:
  • Ghost in My Box Camera written by Meredith McKnight (Lansing High) and composed by Morgan Greenwood (UMKC)
    Connection with the past vs. making art in the present.
  • One Oak Door written by Ellie Burke (Pembroke Hill) and composed by Aaron S. Hill (UMKC)
    An estranged daughter returns home with a daughter of her own.
  • Noise written by Reilly Donnelly (St. Teresa's Academy) and composed by Ed Frazier Davis (UMKC)
    In a world of overwhelming noise, what happens in a place of silence?
  • Middle of a Lake written by Austin Zollars (Barstow) and composed by Adam Strawbridge (UMKC)
    Two friends debate why aliens haven't yet come to Earth.
  • Among the Whispers, the Champagne and the Stars written by Kyra Duwe (Washington High) and composed by Krista Pojman (UMKC)
    A reclusive socialite makes a rare appearance at a ball and meets a kindred spirit.
• And There Was Light by Ana Schulte (Olathe North High)
  A play about a boy and girl who seem to be alone on Earth.

Special thanks to our WORDS + MUSIC partners: Linda Ade Brand at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Paul Rudy and Mara Gibson at the UMKC Composition Department, and to Robert Pherigo, pianist and coach.

ABOUT REACHING THE WRITE MINDS

Reaching the Write Minds was established during Jeff Church's residency at The Kennedy Center to give a voice to emerging young playwrights. Highly acclaimed for its innovative approach to motivate and encourage young talent, Church launched Kansas City's Reaching the Write Minds program in 1992. During the Reaching the Write Minds five-hour seminar, students learn to create settings, build characters and, ultimately, devise a scenario for a complete play.

Playwright facilitators for 2016-2017 were Nancy Marcy, Matthew Schmidli, and Emma Carter. Selected participants from the Reaching the Write Minds seminars are subsequently invited to become members of the Young Playwrights' Roundtable.

Lauded because the program is a series of interactive working sessions, not a contest, the Young Playwrights' Roundtable stimulates young writers through their instruction via a mentoring approach between Church and peer members of the Roundtable. Members meet throughout the school year. Once students are selected, they remain members of the Roundtable until they graduate from high school.

2016-2017 Young Playwrights' Roundtable Members

Bella Barnes (Pembroke Hill), Patrick Bircher (Lansing High), Elianna Burke (Pembroke Hill), Cam Burns (Lansing High), Antonyo Byrd II (Truman High), MiaH Clark (Shawnee Mission South High), Julia Cunningham (Shawnee Mission South High), Alexandria Dains (Truman High), Reilly Donnelly (St. Teresa's Academy), Kyra Duwe (Washington High), Charlotte Ganter (Pembroke Hill), Maria Heath (Indian Woods Middle), Juliet Her (Turner High), Annaleigh Hobbs (Shawnee Mission South High), Braden James (Truman High), Hunter Julo (Pembroke Hill), Sam Keeney (Pembroke Hill), Jaila Law (F.L. Schlagle High), Trinity Lawrence (Washington High), De'Auan McClaine (Sumner Academy), SaVaughn McClaine (Sumner Academy), Meredith McKnight (Lansing High), Jake Merino (Lansing High), Faith Nickens (Truman High), Ellie Port (Odessa High), Alexis Rainey (Grandview High), Annaliese Schroeder (Holden High), Ana Schulte (Olathe North High), Maryn Sifrit (Indian Woods Middle), Lawson Smead (Lansing High), Suan Sonna (Sumner Academy), Shillan Thaithi (Olathe North High), Kassidy Villanueva (Wyandotte High), Sydney Walker (Grandview High), Emily Wheeler (Lee's Summit West High), Austin Zollars (The Barstow School), Kaya Zwick (Turner High)