Circle Theatre Announces Finalists and Semi-Finalists for 2018 High School Playwriting Project

Finalists (listed alphabetically by playwright):

Caroline Cabe, Speak to a Representative, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
Teacher: Lindy Davis

Finn Connor, Party Lines, Fort Worth Country Day
Teacher: Melodee Halbach

Hayden Hart, Water, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
Teacher: Lindy Davis

Kristen Jumes, Direct Message, Boswell High School
Teacher: Melissa Benton Wallis

Semi-finalists (listed alphabetically by playwright):

Ryder Hartsfield, Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
Teacher: Lindy Davis

Destiny Middleton, Colors of Existence, Haltom High School
Teacher: Renee Norris

KT Mudry, He Speaks in Riddles, Fossil Ridge High School
Teacher: Kelsey Easterling

Hadassah Trinkman, The Boy Inside, Boswell High School
Teacher: Melissa Benton Wallis

A public reading of the four finalist plays will take place at 3pm on Sunday, May 6th at Circle Theatre. Texas Christian University theatre professor, Alan Shorter, will direct the readings. A reception honoring the students and their teachers will immediately follow the readings and awards ceremony.

There were 124 scripts submitted from All Saints Episcopal; Benbrook Middle-High School; Boswell High School; Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts; Fossil Ridge High School; Fort Worth Country Day; Keller High School; North Crowley High School; and Southwest Christian High School.

The annual High School Playwriting Project public reading is free of charge and open to the general public, as well as families and friends of the playwrights. Finalist and semi-finalist students and their teachers will receive cash stipends, certificates, trophies, and complimentary theatre tickets as an acknowledgement of their participation and accomplishment.

Additionally, Texas Wesleyan University is offering an academic scholarship to the finalist playwrights, should they choose to attend the university and are accepted into the school.

For further information call 817.877.3040, from 12pm - 5pm, Tuesday through Friday. Circle Theatre is located in Sundance Square at 230 West 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102.

About the High School Playwriting Project

The High School Playwriting Project began as collaboration between Rose Pearson and Larry Boston (an Eastern Hills High School theatre teacher) in 1996. When Mr. Boston received a playwriting scholarship award from the Star-Telegram, he approached Ms. Pearson with the idea of having readings of his students' plays at Circle Theatre, presented by a professional director and cast of actors. These readings expanded into what is now known as the High School Playwriting Project.

Each year, the project begins with invitations to area high school teachers and students to enter 10-minute scripts for evaluation by an experienced panel of judges. These judges read the anonymously submitted plays, write responses for each script, and choose 20 plays to send to Connie Whitt-Lambert, theatre professor at Texas Wesleyan University. This year's panel of judges included Megan Beddingfield, Devin Berg, Roger Drummond, Lauren Ferebee, Deiree Fultz, Matthew Gray, Justin Lemieux, Matt Lyle, Karen Matheny, Steven McGaw, Nicole Neely, Katreeva Phillips, Steven Pounders, Ernestine Rose, Libby Rubin, Shane Strawbridge, and Ashley White.

Connie Whitt-Lambert, along with Wesleyan playwrights Carlos Brumfield and Heather O'Donnell and current students Flower Avila, Alexandra Flurry, and Ryan Simon then provide written analyses for each of the selected twenty plays. This provides the students with an opportunity to edit their original submissions.

The High School Playwriting Project is open to all students and is not limited to theatre classes. Teachers or students wishing to participate in next year's playwriting project may email matthewgray@circletheatre.com.