Arena Stage Announces Student Playwrights Project Winners

Arena Stage announces eight winners of the 2010 Student Playwrights Project Ten-Minute Play Competition - an annual event in which Washington, D.C. metropolitan area students submit ten-minute original plays into competition. More than 500 works were submitted from D.C. area middle and high schools.

The eight winning playwrights will receive master classes in playwriting and work with an Arena Stage dramaturg to develop their plays. The plays will then be directed by an Arena Stage director and performed by professional actors. In addition, Arena Stage will host two evenings of readings for the middle school and high school honorable mention plays.

Admission to the Student Playwrights Project performances is free, but reservations through the Arena Stage Sales Office are required: (202) 488-3300. All performances take place at Source, 1835 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Note: Some of the plays contain mature content and language and may not be appropriate for younger children.

Performances of Winning Plays
Sunday, March 14 - 7:30 p.m.
Monday, March 15 - 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 16 - 7:30 p.m.

Honorable Mention Readings
Middle School Readings - February 22, 7:30 p.m.
High School Readings - February 23, 7:30 p.m.

The Student Playwrights Project is a direct outgrowth of Arena Stage's mission to expand the American canon with new work from diverse voices.

The Winning Plays:

How to Talk Fish and Sing Pretty Songs by Diamante Dorsey, Grade 12
Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington, D.C.

Status Update by Madison Hartke-Weber, Grade 9
Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington, D.C.

Clean Up in Aisle Six by Bridget Kulesh, Grade 12
Gaithersburg High School, Gaithersburg, MD

The Beauty of It by Laneisha McCauley, Grade 10
Cardozo Senior High School, Washington, D.C.

Lip Stains on the Mirror and Cross-Eyed Space Aliens by Madeline Monk, Grade 10
Woodbridge Senior High School, Woodbridge, VA

Baggy Jeans by Sam Nottingham, Grade 12
Yorktown High School, Arlington, VA

The Epiphany by Forrest Penrod, Grade 9
Sitar Arts Center, Washington, D.C.

A Skipped Breakfast by Eleanor Tolf, Grade 8
Capitol Hill Day School, Washington, D.C.

Middle School Honorable Mentions:
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back by Jena Al-Barzinji, Grade 8, Islamic Saudi Academy
Fireflies by Mia De Jesus-Martin, Grade 7, Stuart-Hobson Middle School
Tyranny, Tyranny, You Are My Enemy by Augustin Msellati, Grade 6, French Int'l School
I, Werewolf by Eddie Perez, Grade 8, Carl Sandburg Middle School
Power by Sara Sacher, Grade 8, Rachel Carson Middle School
Daisies: Beautiful Then Wilts by EdWard Smith, Grade 8, Capitol Hill Day School
The Time Machine by Benjamin Wallace, Grade 6, Grace Episcopal Day School
The Big Red Button by Spencer Wallace, Grade 8, Rachel Carson Middle School

High School Honorable Mentions:
The Pig and the Chicken by Marie Bouhour, Grade 9, French Int'l School
The 13th Floor by Kwasi Brooks, Grade 11, Duke Ellington School of the Arts
The Problem With Fathers by John Barton Haslach, Grade 12, Kingsbury Day School
Bartleby's Mission by Lucas Napier-Macdonald, Grade 11, French Int'l School
Chekhov's Dinner by Noa Lynn Nir, Grade 12, Yorktown High School
Robbie & Janet: An Undead Love by Lindsey Reeves, Grade 11, Loudoun High School
A Sacrifice by Nicolas Trad, Grade 9, French Int'l School
Motivation by Madison Jennings, Grade 12, Falls Church High School

The Student Playwrights Project is supported in part by Toni Ritzenberg.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Managing Director Edgar Dobie, Washington, D.C.-based Arena Stage has become the largest theater in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Founded in 1950 by Zelda Fichandler, Thomas Fichandler and Edward Mangum, Arena Stage was one of the nation's original resident theaters and has a distinguished record of leadership and innovation in the field. With the opening of the new Mead Center for American Theater in 2010, Arena Stage will be a leading center for the production, presentation, development and study of American theater. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 200,000. For more information please visit www.arenastage.org.