City Theatre Announces Winners Of The EQT YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS CONTEST

City Theatre has announced the winners of the 2020 EQT Young Playwrights Contest. For the past 21 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.

"City Theatre is delighted to be presenting these three fresh voices at the Young Playwrights Festival coming in January 2021," said Katie Trupiano, Education Director at City Theatre. "While we aren't sure exactly what the Young Playwrights Festival will look like this year due to Covid-19, City Theatre is committed to creating a platform for students' voices and ensuring our audiences have access to their stories."

The three winning plays are: How to Not Fail AP World History with Just a Little Paranormal Assistance by Elena Eiss (8th grade, Pittsburgh CAPA), A Banshee Wails by Amelia Kovach (11th grade, Sharpsville High School), and Fracture by Rivers Leche (12th grade, Winchester Thurston).

Four honorable mention script were also announced; these plays will receive a staged reading of their play that is available to the public. Honorable mentions include: Sweet and Sour by Reyna Borrello (8th grade, Belle Vernon Middle School), Grand Visions by Zoé Soteres (12th grade, Winchester Thurston), The Battle of the Exes by Erin Brody (11th grade, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School), and Purple Ocean by Sebastian Mueller (9th grade, Pittsburgh CAPA).

ABOUT THE PLAYS:

How to Not Fail AP World History with Just a Little Paranormal Assistance

by Elena Eiss

8th grade, Pittsburgh CAPA

High school is stressful enough: with family drama, impossible classes, and making new friends, the last thing a girl needs is to be haunted. Claire is failing AP World History, but has a chance to boost her grade by writing a paper about local history. Who better to ask than someone who was there?

A Banshee Wails

by Amelia Kovach

11th grade, Sharpsville HS

On a dark and stormy night at a cottage deep in the woods, Agatha, a young banshee, is about to make her first wail, signaling death to those nearby. An old music teacher hears talent in the Banshee's cry, setting both their lives on a new path. Agatha fulfills her potential of becoming a renowned opera singer, but she's unsure if she can deny what she was born to do.

Fracture

by Rivers Leche

12th grade, Winchester Thurston

John, a coal miner born and raised in southwestern Pennsylvania, is deeply conflicted about the death of his abusive father. When his sister Christine, now a lawyer in Philadelphia, returns home to claim the siblings' inheritance, it might just tear the family apart. Stuck on opposite ends of the political spectrum, will they be able to see eye to eye?