19th Annual Young Playwrights Festival Set for This Weekend

On Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. in Wharton Center's Pasant Theatre, six of mid-Michigan's top high school playwrights will be recognized as finalists in this year's Young Playwrights Festival. Each finalist's project, after a one-of-a-kind mentoring program with theatre professionals, will be directed and performed live at Wharton Center. The Sunday performance is free and open to the public with first come, first served seating and a second performance - this one specifically for high school students - is scheduled for Monday, May 18, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. All high schools are invited to attend. Reservations for the Monday school show must be made in advance by contacting Laurie Brisen?o, Educational Project Coordinator at 517-884-3141.

The Young Playwrights Festival is a collaboration between MSU Federal Credit Union Institute for Arts & Creativity at Wharton Center and the MSU Department of Theatre. The area's top student writers submit their one-act scripts to this juried competition in hopes of seeing their work performed live on the Wharton Center stage by MSU Department of Theatre students. Of these entries, six of the top playwrights are chosen to collaborate with professional theatre mentors who will provide their creative expertise and guidance as the students workshop their original projects.

Professional mentors include: Edward Daranyi, Stratford Festival of Canada; Seth Gordon, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Joe Giardiana, theatre artist, New York City; Carol North, former Artistic Director of Metro Theatre of St. Louis; Pam Sterling, Arizona State University; and Stephen Skiles, Xavier University.

The 19th Annual Young Playwrights Festival is made possible in part by Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts; Gannett Foundation; Lansing Sate Journal; Mid-Michigan MRI; MSU Department of Radiology; and Wharton Center Inner Circle.