Philip Anastassiou Selected for Stage Scene & Song's Spring Teen Play Development Program

Philip Anastassiou, of Tenafly, NJ, was selected to be the featured teen playwright in Stage Scene & Song's 2014 Spring Play Development Program. Teens 13-19 interested in directing, stage management, performance, and design can register now to be a part of the birth and development of Anastassiou's new play, Of Misanthropy, culminating in a NYC Staged Reading in April. 3sPA Program Leaders will oversee the practical and creative development while training participants in the practical and creative aspects of putting up such a Staged Reading.

Philip Anastassiou is an 18-year old senior at the Bergen County Academies (BCA,) studying theatre in the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, designated in 2013 as a Model School in the Arts in New Jersey. He has won numerous awards for both his prolific catalogue of plays and for his work as an actor. His play, Two Men Alike, received a National Gold Medal from the 2013 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and a professional staged reading at The New School for Drama presented by the acclaimed theatre group, Story Pirates. His play, Good News!, was the winner of the 30th Annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest and the 2013 New Jersey Governor's Award in Arts Education for playwriting, later professionally produced by Premiere Stages Theatre at Kean University. Also, his play, Goobie Ist Tot, was awarded the Theater Project's 2013 Joseph Curka Award for Young Playwrights, while his plays Death to Lord Larry and Yuv Gat Alot To Lurn each received a regional Silver Key from the 2013 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. As an actor, Anastassiou has been honored twice by the Montclair University Theatre Night Awards. He has studied at Oxford University with the British American Drama Academy and the Atlantic Acting School. Come fall, he will be attending Columbia University to pursue a double major in Theatre Arts and Creative Writing.

Anastassiou's play, Of Misanthropy, is a dramatic piece of magic realism, set in a dystopian universe where a Greek chorus of four mothers (The Maternal Chorus) buries their children seconds after they are born to protect them from a life of destitution. After their Senior Prom, an 18 year old Girl and Boy meet at this miserable cemetery and, after much pressuring by the Boy, plan a little tryst at his home. This sets in motion a tragic meeting, many months later, between The Maternal Chorus, the Boy, and the Girl, who is now about to give birth. In a battle of will, love, and hope, the Girl and the Mothers brace for a fight to the death over the life of this new child. This play is a theatrical meditation on love, motherhood, and what makes life worth living. The play deals with mature subject matter and language.

Registration for the program is now open to all teens aged 13-19 interested in acting, directing, stage management, producing, and design. For registrants interested in acting, you must be at least 15 years old and attend our auditions. Please prepare a one-minute dramatic monologue. Auditions are Friday, February 28 from 5:00-6:30pm and Saturday, March 1 from 10:30am-12:00pm. Callbacks, with sides provided at the callback, are Sunday, March 2 from 5:00-6:30pm. You must be registered to audition.

The Spring Play Development Program, auditions and callbacks, will be held at The Center For Modern Dance Education, 84 Euclid Avenue, Hackensack, NJ. The program begins March 17th, 2014,
and runs Mondays from 4:30-6:00pm , and Thursdays from 4:00-6:00pm through April 10th. The Staged Reading will be presented in mid-April in NYC (date and location to be announced). Visit the Spring 2014 Program page at www.3sPA.org for registration information and more details.

Stage, Scene, & Song Performing Arts founders Ellyn Essig (Rivervale), Argine Safari (Fort Lee), and Frank Avellino (Hackensack) came together to provide the perfect space for today's youth - tomorrow's performers, designers, and technicians - to explore all the creative and practical facets of the theater and performance industry. "The Performing Arts is one of the most creative and collaborative endeavors a person can take part in. And nothing is more rewarding than witnessing children exploring their dreams of becoming an actor, director, set designer, or playwright, potentially setting themselves on a thrilling career path," said Avellino. "At 3sPA, children will hone their individual talents, develop leadership skills, experience the reward of achievement, and gain the confidence to know that, with respect and collaboration, they can build a living, breathing production where nothing stood before."

Visit www.3sPA.org or email Stage Scene & Song (info@3sPA.org) with any questions regarding tuition and enrollment for this unique youth theater company's complete programming for ages 9-19.