Stage West Announces Winners of Neighborhood Play Competition

Stage West has announced pieces which will make up the 12th annual Festival of the Kid performances, which will take place virtually again this year. This unique festival was originally conceived by Rob Bosquez, Jr. and Dana Schultes in 2009, and its first performance was presented in December of that year. Their idea was simple: produce plays written by kids and use their peers as the performers. Since that time, the Neighborhood Play Contest has drawn hundreds of entries.

North Texas students were invited to write a short narrative, either fictional or biographical, with themes such as cultural, neighborhood, family or current issues encouraged. The plays chosen will be cast using students and directed by seasoned professionals.

The pieces will be recorded using Zoom, and then will be available for viewing beginning May 14 on Stage West's private YouTube channel. The necessary special code will sent to students and their families, teachers, and any interested general public.

Independent Submission Winners:

• Avery Todd, "Caged"
• Henry Todd, "The Demonic Pen"
• Debbie Paulauskas, "Gamers"

Honorable Mention:

• Claire Pettit, "The Mysterious M.R."
• Debbie Paulauskas, "The Enchanted Forest"

Applied Learning, Ms. Katy Woods

• Emily Kirkpatrick, "The Figures of a Nightmare!"
• Gideon Meade, "Imagine"
• Josie Wilson Head, "Camp Corona"
• Landon Cox, "Picture Myself"
• Natalia Martinez, "Marigold"
• Rowan McIntosh, "A Really Warm Blanket",
• Solana Hood, "The True Story of Little Red Riding Hood"

Honorable Mention:

• Annabeth Sheffield, "The Hamster Smuggling Adventure of Zack Yelina"
• John Nering, "Past, Present or Future"
• Kennedi Mack, "Who Is That?"
• Magnolia Potemkin, "My Father's Words"

Booker T. Washington High School, Ms. Guinea Bennett-Price

• Isabella Ehring, "Sleepaway Camp"
• Isabella Ehring, "Anxious Type"
• Lilium Fitzgerald, "My Body"
• Lilium Fitzgerald, "Imaginary Friend"
• Kloe Rhoden, "Your Personal Island"

Honorable Mention:

• Isabella Ehring, "The House of Torment"
• Lilium Fitzgerald, "London Fog"

Byron Nelson High School, Ms. Wendy Bramlett

• Jonah Chen, "Dear Pen Pal"
• Arden Scearce, "I'm Enough"
• Aubrey Bryant, "Just Be"
• Belle Pfeil, Untitled
• Andrew Maas, Untitled
• Mack Buth, "Innocence and Youth"
• Katie Freeman, "What Happened?"
• Violet Novak, "Erosion"

Honorable Mention:

• Dylan Hilbert, "An Embarrassing Moment"
• Ella Von Dreau, Untitled
• Gabriella Gagnon, "Listen"
• Samuel Maddox, "Imposter"
• Onye Moweta, "Enitan: The Story of Unlikely Love"

Caprock Elementary, Ms. Lena Paulauskas

• Garrett Hadden, "When Pigs Fly"
• Brodie Shelton, "The Dark Forest"
• Maddison Caraway, "Rose & Violet"
• Jayla Hayes, "Talking Dogs"
• Amaya Gonzalez Pena, "The Ingredients Find"
• Yanelis Pacheco Morales, "Helado"
• Ryker Howerton, "If my dog could talk"
• Rebekah Lowman, "Unicorns in Space"
• Neveah Vizcarrondo, "Cookie Jar"
• Paisleigh Murry, "Carl"
• Knox Beasley, "The Strongest Boy"

Carter Riverside High School, Dennis O'Neill

• Edwin Luna Medellin, "Covid hits the N Pole"
• Ellie Servin, "Skate Boarding Euphoria"
• Emily Down, "A Siren's Song"
• Grace Adwell, "The Nightmare"
• Joel Olmos, "Hope"
• Brandon Torres, "Andrew Perez School Life"

Honorable Mention:

• Saira Aguilar, "Untitled"

Ft. Worth Academy of Fine Arts, Ms. Rebecca Magnus

• Alaina Spaltro, "Not the Favorite"
• Alice Watson, "To the Dr"
• Ayomide Agboola, "In my mind"
• Virginia Szok, "Babysitter Trauma"
• Janiris Mercado, "The Halloween Prank"
• Julian Morales, "Cereal Confusion"
• Kylee Nichols, "I Am Me!"
• Shourya Chaudhari, "Prank Day"
• Silvia Ho, "When the Ice Cream Melts"
• Virginia Szok, "I'm Stronger"

Honorable Mention:

• Alice Watson, "Up & Away"
• Iju Jeon, "Scene 3"
• Madelyn Prickett, "The Dream"
• Silvia Ho, "Breakfast Escape"

Haltom High School, Ms. Renee Norris

• Julia Suazo, "Behind the Lens"
• Loraine Simmons, "Acqui"
• Brenda Ramirez, "Not a True Friend"
• Jade Hilbert, "Giggle & Gone"
• Lily Metcalf, "I Hate My Mirror"
• Dylan Cain, "The False Monarch of England"

Honorable Mention:

• Makayla Bandy, "Colors Upon the Canvas"

IM Terrill High School, Ms. Bentleigh Nesbitt

• Lindsey May DeVries, "If Ashes Could Talk"
• Hannah Campbell, "The Bright Side"
• Meadow Simpson, "Lovely, the Whole Pain Thing, Isn't it?"

Honorable Mention:

• Scooter (Rod) Sachs, "In the Town of Hook"
• Diego Reyes, "A Beautiful Aftermath"

Nimitz High School, Ms. Elizabeth Herrera

• Alexandria Madison McCoy, "Sweetest Devotion"

Nova Academy, Ms. Paula Goldberg

• Cindy Faz, "Never a Natural Death"
• Ti'Maya Terry, "Fake Friends"

Parkview Elementary, Ms. Sarah Zamora

• Julian Gooding, "The Secret Mission"
• Jema Pederson, "I'm Late"
• Luna Venegas, "My Dog Life"
• Reagan Grimes, "The Judge"
• Kayla Contraraz, "Celestia's Speech"
• Brystal Hedges, "Brystal & Eisley!!!"
• Brandon Matos, "The Alien"
• Taylor, "Anxiety"
• Kassidy Vuong, "The Lonely Life of a Lamp"

School of Science & Engineering, Dallas, Ms. Ashley Head

• Jaden Brooks, "Finding Myself"

Timber Creek High School, Craig Robertson

• Paris Lowery, "The Pursuit of Community"

Trimble Tech, Ms. Cheryl Penland

• Giselle Martinez & Elena Velasquez, "Jessie's Escape"
• Fausto Anguiano, "Dream"
• Jayden Wright, "What Am I?"
• Karen Fernandez & Arely Sandatte, "There is an I in indecisive"
• Euriya Blair, "Deep Thought for Society"

Honorable Mention:

• Karyme Nicole Ortiz "Valentine's Day"

For further information, call (817) 784-9378 or go to www.stagewest.org/outreach.

Dallas Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. BIG FISH (Texas Music Theatre Company)

7.6% of votes

2. SCROOGE THE MUSICAL (North Texas Performing Arts)

6% of votes

3. RENT (Grand Prairie Arts Council)

4.5% of votes

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