2014 Young Playwrights Festival Honorees Announced

Center Stage has announced the honorees for this year's Young Playwrights Festival, an annual competition that welcomes Maryland students in grades K-12 to submit original scripts. This year, student playwrights submitted nearly 500 plays. The plays selected will be showcased with workshops, in-school performances, and select pieces will be staged at the Annual Young Playwrights Festival performance at Center Stage on Monday, May 5, at 7 pm.

"Every year more and more young students across the state take on our playwriting challenge-to astounding results," says Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah. "As the State Theater of Maryland, it is a great honor to recognize the amazing talent and creativity coming out of our schools."

My American/My Baltimore
Accompanying the staged readings at the Festival will be the premiere of six new filmed My America/My Baltimore student monologues. In response to Center Stage's My America project-where 50 leading American playwrights were asked to answer the question "What is my America?"-Center Stage opened this question up to the creative minds of tomorrow. This year, more than 260 students in grades K-12 throughout Maryland submitted monologues exploring "What is my America?" and six monologues will be filmed and premiered at the 2014 Young Playwrights Festival.

Center Stage welcomes the community to attend the free Young Playwrights Festival performance on May 5, which includes an awards ceremony recognizing honorees, staged readings of selected plays, the My America/My Baltimore films, and a reception in honor of all of the students who submitted scripts. The event is free; however, a $5 donation is suggested at the door. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Center Stage Box Office at 410.332.0033.

The Young Playwrights Festival is presented by Center Stage's Department of Community Programs & Education, under the direction of Rosiland Cauthen, and is made possible through the generous support of our many community partners, including The Kennedy Center VSA, The P&G Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Eggspectation, M&T Bank, Transamerica, and the Maryland State Arts Council.
2014 Young Playwrights Festival Honorees

Staged Honorees

Lily Bradford
The Kite
Grade 2, Stoneleigh Elementary, Baltimore County
Nora the butterfly, Madeline the ladybug, and Froggy the frog's kite has a mishap with the local pond in this charming tale of friendship.

Yishva Iyer
The Friends' Sanctuary
Grade 4, Roland Park Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore City
Young panda Puki and koala Coco's forest home is destroyed by humans. Though they don't immediately trust human Rosie and her human family, a granola bar as good-will gesture spans the species divide, leading to new possibilities for the orphaned bear-marsupial duo.

Nikhil Mathur
The Voyage Home
Grade 7, Harford Day School, Harford County
An eccentric pirate captain from 1547 and his crew aboard the Sea Dragon are washed ashore in 2014 Miami. They have the good fortune to befriend Eric, who helps them navigate this strange and impressive city to find their way home.

Grace Good
The Shot that Was Heard All Around Heaven
Grade 7, Baltimore Lab School, Baltimore City
What happens when Edgar Allan Poe, Albert Einstein, Annie Oakley, and Mother Teresa find themselves killing time in Heaven? They put on a Wild West charity event, of course!

MaryLouise Sparrow
Mental Divide
Grade 11, St. Paul's School for Girls, Baltimore County
Right meets left, impulse meets Adderall, and girl meets boy in this quick-witted exploration of a high school student's brain.

Amanda Updegrove
Step by Step
Grade 11, Howard High School, Howard County
Protected-yet isolated-in her small hometown, one young woman sees potential camaraderie when a newcomer opens a gym in town.

In-school Readings Honorees

Anu Jinadu
The Plan
Grade 4, Mt. Washington School, Baltimore City
Kaya and her gang of international prodigy spies are pitted against the baddest supervillain of all time, Sunshine, in a race to save her parents from certain destruction. Fortunately, they have a plan!

Lucy Anstett
The Green Skinned, Purple Freckled, Blue Haired Girl
Grade 4, School of the Cathedral, Baltimore County
Elsa can hear colors, which makes her a perfect target for Madge's ridicule. When Elsa meets classmates who appreciate her, the outcasts stand up for themselves and each other to show that no one should be judged for how they look, how they talk, or what gifts and talents they have.

Patrick Banks
Pirate Robots
Grade 5, The Auburn School, Baltimore County
When pirate robots kidnap Kevin and threaten to take over the world, Kevin and his new friend must rely on bravery and a little bit of luck to stop the army of artificial unintelligence.

Declan McGee
The Narrator
Grade 6, Loyola Blakefield, Baltimore County
It's a very bad idea to spill coffee on a director. When said director hires a Narrator to broadcast all of Jim's inner thoughts, Jim learns this lesson the hard way.

Maddi Viteri
Booked
Grade 7, Severna Park Middle School, Anne Arundel County
Have you ever thought to yourself: "I wish I could change the ending of that book"? After finishing her bedtime reading, Maci wonders those words aloud and wakes up as the protagonist inside the novel. With only a week until all is lost, she must scramble to save both the book's ending and her own life.

Julia Angkeow
Where We Belong
Grade 8, Harford Day School, Harford County
Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Apollo negotiate their new identities as teenage re-incarnations of themselves in the Big Apple while working together to find where they belong.

Sarah Marshall
A Story of Good and Evil
Grade 10, Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore City
In most stories, in most kingdoms, we cheer the good and jeer the evil. The hero beats the villain and the dragon is slain. But Prince Philip and pauper Leo, at first accepting their destinies, discover that it's the victor who writes the history books.

Flora Aubin
Don't Forget the Dandelions
Grade 10, Hammond High School, Howard County
In this poetic memory play, Daniel D. Lyon recounts the moment his life changed, reminds us that dandelions are still flowers-still alive, and implores us to take a little more care with the weeds we encounter.

Samantha Berenschot-Bucciero
The Foreign Word
Grade 11, Gov. Thomas Johnson High School, Frederick County
A teenage boy in a psychologist's office offers us a sympathetic glimpse at an unsympathetic character.

My America/My Baltimore Honorees

Johana Gourdin
Our Song, Our Banner
Grade 12, Dulaney High School

Autumn Campbell
The Land of the Free
Grade 8, Hyattsville Middle School

Ashya Cox
My Baltimore
Grade 4, Windsor Hills Elementary Middle School

Jordan Jenkins
My America
Grade 8, Roland Park Elementary Middle School

Breshawn Wallace
Scary Movies
Kindergarten, Creative City Public Charter School

Ja'da Woodley
My Baltimore
Grade 10, Westside Youth Opportunity