Young Playwrights Festival Announced At Barter Theatre

Barter Theatre's 17-Annual Young Playwrights Festival took place on November 5, 2018 with two performances in the morning at Gilliam Stage for over 800 students, and a public evening performance at Barter Stage II.

The 2018 festival included 395 plays written by 633 playwrights from 14 high schools in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Since its inception in 2002, Barter's Young Playwrights Festival has included over 3,300 plays and over 5,000 playwrights.

2018's first-place winner is Pauses, written by Aisling Ringrose from Abingdon High School, whose teachers are Christie Lawson and Crystal Hurd. The second-place winner is I Hear Ya, written by Rachel Womack from Chilhowie High School, whose teacher is Rebecca Peery. Third place is 'Till Death Do Us Part, written by Evan Mays from Volunteer High School, whose teacher is Justin Barton.

The Honorable Mention plays, in no particular order, are: The Slaying of Non- Imaginary Monsters by Alexa Wheeler, Chilhowie High School, Teacher: Rebecca Peery; Irreversible by Abby Jack, Elizabethton High School, Teacher: Sara Hardin; Black And White by Josie Stewart, Abby Leonard, and Marissa Merro, Carroll County High School, Teacher: Chelsea Wood; Detective Mitch Dash: And the Pied Swiper by John Luke Sage, Marion Senior High School, Teacher: Noel Todd Necessary; and You'll See by Shawn Wohlford, John S. Battle High School, Teacher: Dr. Melissa Buckles.

The 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.

About Barter Theatre Barter Theatre, the nation's longest running professional theatre, is located in Abingdon, Virginia. The theatre opened in 1933 during the Great Depression. Founder Robert Porterfield offered patrons admission to the theatre by bartering food and livestock. Barter Theatre was designated as the state theatre of Virginia in 1946. It exists today as one of the last year-round professional resident repertory theaters remaining in the United States. Barter Theatre is funded in part by The Virginia Commission for the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts.

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