Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Holds 16th Annual Young Playwrights Festival

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center recently held the 16th annual Young Playwrights Festival. Employing the signature "O'Neill process," the festival provides professional support to develop original one-act plays written by middle and high school students (age 12-18).

Selected from 167 nationwide entries from 52 schools, five student playwrights had the opportunity to develop their work through a script-in-hand staged reading April 30-May 2, in-person at the O'Neill. Undergraduate students from across the country training at the National Theater Institute this spring collaborated with local middle and high school students to bring these works to life:

What the Future Holds by Emma Courtright Old Saybrook Middle School

Breakfast by Jasper Galouzis Fitch High School

Dear Diary by Shelby Pauloski Old Saybrook Middle School

The Will of Walter by Hazel Siu Clark Lane Middle School

Integrity by Paige Walstra Waterford High School

In addition to a fully staged reading for immediate family, students also received dream design renderings by scenic designer Dahlia Al-Habieli (NTI Fall '05). This is the first year that the Young Playwrights Festival has been held concurrently with the National Theater Institute spring semester. Throughout the pandemic, NTI has been successfully safe, offering in-person theater training and was well-suited to support local students with an on-campus development experience. In another first for YPF, this year marked the first musical written for the program.

Other young playwrights were selected to participate virtually in the Guest Playwright Observation program which was held earlier in the month and provided a table reading, personalized feedback, and mentorship to 10 middle and high school students.

Hall of Fame by Sara Cove Rockville High School

The Golden Age of Friendship by Pamela Durango-Ramirez Lincoln School

From the Flames of Disease by Zaya Haglund ISAAC

Judged by the Look by Aisha Hashimi Fitch High School

Open Wounds by Nazariah Isaac New London High School

The Stupidity of Pink and Blue by Mirabelle Meek Lincoln School; RI

So Get This by Addison Mobley Clark Lane Middle School

Borderline by Ariana Rosado Waterford High School

Scrapyard Goals by Cameron Webster Clark Lane Middle School

Chutes & Ladders by Lilly Werling Pittsburgh CAPA

"The past year has been a difficult one in so many ways." remarked YPF Artistic Director/Director of Education Sophia Chapadjiev. "As adults are trying to come to terms with a pandemic and make sense of national inequities, so, too, are younger people. Many of this year's Young Playwrights Festival submissions address weighty matters and while I am saddened to think of what is needing to be processed, I find it encouraging that young writers are trying to process it with theater. I am pleased that we are able to offer them a platform to share their work." Chapadjiev, a playwright herself, has had her own work produced in the U.S. and internationally.

Funding for the 2021 Young Playwrights Festival is provided in part by: Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and Chelsea Groton Foundation.

***

About the Young Playwrights Festival: In addition to a semester-long, in-school playwriting program, selected middle and high school students are given the opportunity to spend a weekend at the O'Neill with a dedicated creative team of National Theater Institute alumni - director, dramaturg, designer and actors - helping them to stage their original one act plays. The development process draws on principles and techniques used during the O'Neill's renowned National Playwrights Conference. With these methods, the students hone their work, furthering it from the initial isolation of writing to the collaborative process involved in making their script into a living, breathing play. For more information on the Young Playwrights Festival, visit www.theoneill.org or e-mail ypf@theoneill.org.

About the National Theater Institute: With a singular schedule and an unmatched breadth of training, the National Theater Institute's six semester-long programs offer students a springboard to the professional world at the two-time Tony Award-winning Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Founded in 1970, NTI's credit-earning theater intensives-taught by industry professionals and master teachers-train actors, singers, directors, dancers, designers, playwrights and composers. www.NationalTheaterInstitute.org Watch: NTI- At A Glance