Wharton Center & MSU's 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival Seeks Submissions

High school students across the state are invited to submit a one-act play to be juried in the 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), a collaboration between Wharton Center Institute for Arts & Creativity and MSU Department of Theatre.

Twelve semi-finalists will be chosen from all submitted scripts, and from those twelve, the jury will select six finalists whose plays will be produced at Wharton Center. Each of the six finalists will be assigned a professional theatre mentor, who will assist the playwright with revising their play.

On Saturday, May 12, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. in Wharton Center's Pasant Theatre, the six finalists' plays will be performed by MSU Department of Theatre students. The performance is free and open to the public with first-come, first-served seating. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

Each finalist will also receive a $200 award. The other six semi-finalists will receive a $100 award.

To enter, eligible students (in grades 9-12) must complete an application available online at www.whartoncenter.com/ypf. Rules for submission are listed there, as well. All script entries for this year's festival must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format by Monday, December 4, 2017.

A second performance is scheduled for Monday, May 14, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. for high school students. All high schools are invited to attend this free event. Reservations for the May 14 school show must be made in advance by contacting Laurie Briseño, Education Operations Manager, at laurie.briseno@whartoncenter.com by May 1, 2018.

Professional mentors for 2018 include:

Joe Giardina, Managing Director, Gretna Theatre, Pennsylvania

Pam Sterling, Associate Professor of Theatre, Arizona State University

Joe Zettlemaier, Michigan-based playwright

Amanda Ewing, University of Michigan

Ken LaZebnik, playwright and screenwriter

Randy Wyatt, Aquinas College