2021 Young Playwrights Contest Winners Announces

City Theatre has announced the winners of the 2021 Young Playwrights Contest. For the past 22 years, City Theatre has held a regional playwrighting contest for students in grades 7-12. The winners will have their plays professionally produced by City Theatre, as well as published in the Young Playwrights Anthology.

"This year's Young Playwrights Contest received over 250 submissions," said Katie Trupiano, Education Director at City Theatre. "Considering all the challenges of the past school year, we were elated to see so many compelling and authentic stories submitted. This year's winners really prove that art continues to thrive, even while the world around us is changing. We look forward to staging these incredible plays in the fall and sharing them with our audiences."

The four winning plays are: Spring in the Underworld by Shelby Powers (7th grade, Burgettstown Middle School), Bird Without a Nest by Sophia Khan (7th grade, Sewickley Academy), A Boring Street in the Middle of Nowhere by Lucy Potts (9th grade, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12), and Never Too Late to Change by Ayanna Bennett (10th grade, Alumni Theatre Company/Westinghouse Arts Academy).

For educators interested in sharing the festival with their students this fall, or for those who would like to learn more about bringing City Theatre's Young Playwrights program to their classrooms, please contact Katie at ktrupiano@citytheatrecompany.org.

Spring in the Underworld

by Shelby Powers

7th grade, Burgettstown Middle School

When Hades and Zeus hatch a plan to find Hades a goddess, things don't go quite the way they anticipated. The Underworld has no fury like a mother missing her daughter, and in order to prevent war and pacify the gods, a deal must be made.

Bird Without a Nest

by Sophia Khan

7th grade, Sewickley Academy

Aisha is trying to figure out who she is and when she meets a unlikely friend in the park, an interest in the birds around her is sparked. She finds herself opening to the world around her as she begins to see people and places differently.

A Boring Street in the Middle of Nowhere

by Lucy Potts
9th grade, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12

Change is never easy, and for Isobel, watching her neighborhood change around her is downright painful. When a new neighbor moves in across the street, Isobel starts to realize that change may not be as bad as she has always thought.

Never Too Late to Change

by Ayanna Bennett

10th grade, Alumni Theatre Company/Westinghouse Arts Academy

Martin Luther King, Jr. Harriet Tubman. Malcolm X. These common Black history figures are not the only people worth learning about during Black History Month. When best friends, Jamila and Elijah, hear these names again, they take it upon themselves to educate their classmates and teacher that there's a lot more to Black history than slavery and civil rights, and it's all worth learning.