Barter Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival Has Record Breaking Entries

Barter Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival is an annual event that cultivates and celebrates the talent of high school students. The purpose of this Festival is to encourage the development of students' writing skills and creativity, with the added benefit of discovering talented playwrights in our region.

This year, over 737 students from the region are participating in the festival, and we have received 506 plays to read and provide feedback for each participating student. Every student's play gets hand-written comments and feedback from Barter professionals.

This is a collaborative festival among Barter Theatre professionals and teachers from all over the region. Teachers are taught playwriting by Barter's Playwright-In-Residence, Catherine Bush. Teachers then instruct their students, who have a 6-week period to create their original works, which are submitted to Barter.

Three winning plays are lightly staged at Barter Theatre by professional actors, and five honorable mention plays are given a reading. Writers of the top three plays receive cash prizes and a mentoring session with a Barter professional, which allows the students to have valuable one-on-one time with experts in the field of theatre and playwriting.

Barter's 18th Annual Young Playwrights Festival public reading will be Monday, Nov. 4 at Barter's Smith Theatre at 7:00pm. The winning plays will be performed by The Barter Players at with a reception to follow. Admission is free to the public. To reserve your free seat, call Barter's box office at 276-628-3991.
Photo: 2018 YPF Participants

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Lighting Design - Top 3

1. Jen Schriever, Michael Arden - The Lost Boys

38.3% of votes

2. Jack Knowles - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

11.7% of votes

3. Adam Honoré - CATS: The Jellicle Ball

6.8% of votes

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