City Theatre Reveals Winners of the 2024 Young Playwrights Contest

City Theatre has revealed the winners of the 2024 Young Playwrights Contest. For the past 25 years, City Theatre has held a regional playwrighting contest for students in grades 7-12. Winners were chosen from 275 submissions and will have their plays professionally produced by City Theatre, as well as published in the Young Playwrights Anthology. This season also marks the 25th anniversary of the festival and will include a “Class Reunion” taking place over the festival weekend.

“For 25 years, City Theatre's Young Playwrights program has uplifted and celebrated youth voices. We're thrilled to be bringing these 6 one-acts to the stage this fall,” said Katie Trupiano, Director of Education & Accessibility. “The creativity in these stories is abounding, and like any good playwright, they will push our creative process as professional producers and designers forward. We hope their stories inspire creativity and an appreciation for theatre arts in both our student and adult audiences.”

The three winning middle school plays include: SQUISHED (Reagan Dobson and Afton Rogers, 7th Grade, Keystone Oaks Middle School), COME HOME HAPPY (Justus Payne, 7th Grade, Shiller Steam Academy & Alumni Theater Company), and INSIDE A BOX (Ira Clemens, 8th Grade, Falk Laboratory School) The three winning high school plays are:  SAVE THEM (Jonathan Pennybaker, 10th Grade, Alumni Theater Company), TINDER TENSION (Libby Eannarino, 12th Grade, Sewickley Academy) and FLOWERS, GONE (Eliza Jane Burgess, 9th Grade, Oakland Catholic High School). Honorable mentions include: MY DEAD BEST FRIEND (Tiana Ellis, 11th grade, Washington High School),  DREAMING ON THE SPLITTING SEAS (Mako Morgan, 7th grade Keystone Oaks Middle School), and  THRIFTED (Phoebe Desilva, 8th grade, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12).
 
The Young Playwrights Festival will take place October 8 - 20, 2024 with public performances on October 19th and 20th.
 
City Theatre plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Young Playwrights Festival with a special benefit event on Friday, October 18th. YPF 25th Class Reunion: Party Like It’s 1999 will celebrate the artists, students, teaching artists, and other visionaries who have made the Young Playwrights program one of the most meaningful in-school arts education programs in the region. More details to follow.

ABOUT THE PLAYS:

High School:

SAVE THEM by Jonathan Pennybaker

10th Grade, Alumni Theater Company

In the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, a family seeks justice for their loved one after he was murdered by a police officer. While navigating their own grief, they fear the same cycle of brutality repeating again and again. A lyrical exploration of the balance between safety and justice.
 

TINDER TENSION by Libby Eannarino

12th Grade, Sewickley Academy
Tinder makes it easy to connect, but when Stanley swipes right on someone with a complicated history, he might have bitten off more than he can chew. After all, you can’t trust everyone you meet on the internet, now, can you?
 

FLOWERS, GONE by Eliza Jane Burgess

9th Grade, Oakland Catholic High School
The tumultuous Vietnam War divided families across the United States. Lisa Johnson, a renowned folk singer, turns to her music, hoping that her family’s commonalities will overcome their differences.
 

Middle School:

SQUISHED by Reagan Dobson and Afton Rogers

7th Grade, Keystone Oaks Middle School
After his father is squished by a human, a lanternfly seeks to avenge his death. Join Lenny and his fellow lanternflies on an epic quest for revenge against the cold-blooded humans. This is a story of persistence, friendship, and a lesson in minding your inter-species manners.
 

COME HOME HAPPY by Justus Payne

7th Grade, Shiller Steam Academy & Alumni Theater Company
Grief affects everyone differently. Sometimes it isolates. Other times, it unites. This heartfelt story follows a family finding their way back to one another as they navigate the loss of a loved one.
 

INSIDE A BOX by Ira Clemens

8th Grade, Falk Laboratory School
Stanley is just a guy, stuck in a room, living controlled by the will of a disembodied voice named Lester. Witness an existential look at power and one’s own free will through this absurdist play.

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