CENTERSTAGE Presents 24th Annual Young Playwrights Festival Winners 5/3

CENTERSTAGE announces the winners of the 24th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. Honorees will workshop their plays for three days with professional theater artists, which leads up to staged reading of the plays at the Festival on Monday, May 3rd, 2010. Additional applicants will have a workshop and reading of their play at their school; others receive an honorable mention.  
The following plays will receive a Staged Reading at CENTERSTAGE:
 
·         Understanding by 6th-8th graders of Maryland School for the Deaf (Howard County)
 
Middle School aged deaf students share their experiences about the challenges of attending public school where they are mainstreamed with hearing students.  They then compare this experience with attending a school for the deaf where every part of the social and academic environment is accessible to them because the community shares their common language.
 
·         Who is Right? by Benjamin Charles
1st Grade, Mount Washington Elementary (Baltimore City)
 
Ben and Sam, a paleontologist and his butler, create a time machine in order to prove that a Kentrosaurus is a real dinosaur.  Although Sam’s disbelief and need to disagree may get him in trouble…
 
·         The Chairman by Jacob Sheehan
5th Grade, City Neighbors Charter School (Baltimore City)
 
Justice, Doom, Death, Destruction, Love, Forgiveness, Life, and Fate, convene to discuss humanity’s destruction of nature and the world, and to try and discover a solution.
 
·         Jan and the Computer Game by Kylara Mundy
5th Grade, Chevy Chase Elementary School (Montgomery County)
 
Jan, obsessed with a computer version of Boggle, is sucked into the computer to find and meet Allie, a soccer player stuck there, too.  Their only escape is to get a high score in a life size version of the Boggle Board Game—and neither girl can do it alone.
 
·         A Rough Road to Glory by AJ Barretto
7th Grade, Harford Day School (Harford County)
 
Racial issues play out over football tryouts at a new school for Darius, as a student gives him trouble for showing him up, as well as for his skin color. High-achieving Darius finds allies in Anthony and Coach Davis: he is willing to work for success, despite the expectations of those around him.
 
·         Smoking in the Girls Room by Brittany Truske
12th Grade, Eleanor Roosevelt High School (Prince George’s County)
 
Earth-loving Annabelle, sweet but insecure Marie, and edgy Charlie find themselves together in the girls’ room. Tension arises as Annabelle and Marie become friends, and Charlie antagonizes them both. However, Annabelle’s braveness inspires the possibility of change in Annabelle’s insecurity and Charlie’s meanness.
 
The following plays will receive a Playwright Workshop, including a reading at the playwright’s school:
 
·         The Secret by David Okello
3rd Grade, Whetstone Elementary School (Harford County)

·         It’s On the Inside of Me! by Rebecca Hewitt
4th Grade, Waugh Chapel Elementary School (Anne Arundel County)
 
·         Football Lady by Asia Gibson
6th Grade, Afya Public Charter School (Baltimore City)

·         The Princess Knight by Audrey Song
8th Grade, Harford Day School (Harford County)
 
·         Calamityzoo by Kaley Martin
8th Grade, Harford Day School (Harford County)
 
·         Brains vs. Bullies by Charles Oliver, Jr.
8th Grade, St. Ignatius (Baltimore City)
 
·         Blue Suede Shoes by Meghan Stanton
12th Grade, The Bryn Mawr School (Baltimore City)
 
·         Pocket Sized by Samantha Cameron
12th Grade, Sherwood High School (Montgomery County)
 
The Following playwrights will receive Honorable Mentions:
 
·         Unheard Cries and the Disregarded Dreams by Sam Goldberger5th Grade, Chevy Chase Elementary School (Montgomery County)
 
·         Sailing in Myths by Michael Acker
6th Grade, Harford County Day School (Harford County)
 
·         Skin Tight by Josh Simon
12th Grade, Winston Churchill High School (Montgomery County)
 
 
Young Playwrights Festival is presented by CENTERSTAGE’s Department of Community Programs & Education, under the direction of Julianne Franz, Director of Community Programs &Education. The Festival is made possible through the generous support of M&T Bank, Verizon, Procter & Gamble, VSA arts, and Eggspectation.

 For more information on the Young Playwrights Festival, contact the Department of Community Programs & Education, at either 410.986.4050 or education@centerstage.org.
 
Since 1963, CENTERSTAGE has been committed to producing and developing an eclectic repertory of challenging, bold, and thought-provoking work, representing a varied array of theatrical styles and forms, in collaboration with leading artists. Each year, a consistently broad range of productions in two intimate performing spaces attracts highly diverse audiences of more than 100,000 people—including thousands of fiercely loyal subscriber members, many of whom have been with the theater during its entire history. Additionally, CENTERSTAGE offers a variety of dramaturgical, community, and educational programs to broaden access and enhance the theatergoing experience, earning its honorary designation as the official State Theater of Maryland.

Visit centerstage.org.

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