Florida Studio Theatre Will Honor Winners of 2026 Young Playwrights Festival

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) has announced the winners of its 2026 Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), recognizing the creativity and courage of student playwrights from across Florida and around the world. Selected from over 5,000 playwrights during the 2025-2026 school year, the winning plays are now being brought to life onstage in FST's production of The Pirate Ship and the Sea Monster & Other Winning Plays.

Each year, the WRITE A PLAY program culminates with Young Playwrights Festival Day on FST's five-theatre campus, taking place on May 16, 2026. Students, teachers, and families gather to watch live performances of the winning plays before young playwrights are honored during an awards ceremony where they receive medals of honor recognizing their storytelling achievements.

One of this year's honorable mentions also highlights the program's lasting impact across generations. Fourth grader Aurora Youngs was recognized for her play – and her teacher, who is also her mother, received an honorable mention in the same festival nearly three decades ago in 1998. Their shared connection to the program reflects the enduring influence of FST's WRITE A PLAY initiative on young storytellers and the educators who inspire them.

“FST was a huge inspiration for me as a child. I was so excited when I was in third grade that I went straight home and wrote my honorable mention play in one night!” said Amanda Youngs, Aurora's educator and mother. “The WRITE A PLAY program brings out a natural love of learning in students where they can express their creativity. It leaves lasting impacts on generations of future writers and educators.”

A beloved tradition for more than 35 years, the festival celebrates the bold imaginations of young writers whose scripts are transformed into fully staged productions performed by professional actors. This year's production features 10 winning plays, including the return of The Pirate Ship and the Sea Monster, a standout favorite from last season.

“We read every play twice,” says Caroline Saldivar, FST's Director of Children's Theatre. “We stop the theatre and have a Read-a-Thon. We all sit and just read plays with popcorn and drinks because you have to think like a child.”

The submitted plays span an impressive range of subjects and styles. “They can be about everything from dogs to golden bologna sandwiches to a girl who didn't want her hair pulled in the classroom,” Saldivar adds. “The characters are so creative. The stories that they tell are heartfelt and funny: everything you could possibly want from a playwright.”

Now in its 35th year, FST's WRITE A PLAY program guides students through every step of the playwriting process through interactive workshops, live performances, and classroom visits. Since its launch in 1991, the program has reached more than one million students, with a strong focus on Title I and underserved schools. For many participants, it provides their very first experience with live theatre. Beyond celebrating creativity, the festival honors the bravery required to share original ideas.

“We ask them to write authentically and to be brave,” explains Kate Alexander, FST's Associate Director At-Large who founded the award-winning program. “And then they're given a medal of valor for their chosen play. The Greeks gave their artists medals of valor at their playwriting festivals equal to their soldiers, because they said it took as much courage to write a play as it did to go into battle.”