Young Playwrights Festival

YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL TOP TEN DISTINGUISHED PLAYS OF 2017

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre is delighted to announce the Top Ten Distinguished Plays of 2017 in our annual Young Playwrights Festival Playwriting Competition. Representing five schools, the winners will enter the final round of competition next summer for a slot in MCT's Young Playwrights Festival Showcase 2018-2019. The Top Ten of 2017 are as follows:

BLUE SAGE by Jessica Baskerville, MacDowell Montessori High School [Mentor teacher: Nakeysha Roberts Washington]

FANG by Eh Kee Lar Paw, Messmer High School [Mentor teacher: Gail Burkel]

HITMAN by Seth Hill, Alexander Hamilton High School [Mentor teacher: Tiffany Hagey]

LEGENDS OF NEVERMORE by Dimitrius Franks, MacDowell Montessori High School [Mentor teacher: Nakeysha Roberts Washington]

MEMORIES FROM THE DOLLHOUSE by Annaliese Rasmussen, Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School [Mentor teacher: Carrie Baker]

PINTA EL FUEGO by Markia Silverman-Rodriguez, Pius XI Catholic High School [Mentor teacher: Kevin Schwartz]

SEATTLE by Harrison Dudek, Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School [Mentor teacher: Carrie Baker]

THE DIVINE KOMEDY by Max Engel, Pius XI Catholic High School [Mentor teacher: Kevin Schwartz]

THE SECRET YOU'LL KEEP by Aminah Green, Messmer High School [Mentor teacher: Gail Burkel]

TRUTH OF SOCIETY by Anthwaun Stewart, Messmer High School [Mentor teacher: Gail Burkel]

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!

NEEDED: ORIGINAL ONE-ACT PLAYS WRITTEN BY WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2018

Young Wisconsin writers!  Submit your new one-act play to MCT's Young Playwrights Festival Playwriting Competition!  We are accepting entries for the 2018 Competition at this time.

See submission guidelines and entry cover sheets for details, available for download below.

Submission Guidelines

Entry Cover Sheet

Every year, MCT accepts original one-act play scripts for consideration for our biennial YPF Showcase featuring up-and-coming regional directors, designers, and actors.

Of the twenty finalists from 2017 and 2018, three playwrights will win a cash prize and the opportunity to participate in the production process as their plays are brought to life onstage in the 2018-2019 MCT Young Playwrights Festival Showcase.  Three additional playwrights will receive Honorable Mentions, a cash prize, and a staged reading during the Showcase week.

Contact Marcella Kearns, Associate Artistic Director at MCT, for further information: 414.276.8842 email Marcella

What is the Young Playwrights Festival?

The Young Playwrights Festival is Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's signature education program. This annual writing competition is designed to encourage high school students to explore themes and relationships from a uniquely adolescent perspective through the writing of a one-act play.  Ten pieces are designated Distinguished Plays every year.  The Distinguished Plays from two years running then enter into final competition for a slot in the YPF Showcase, a biennial event which features fully produced performances of three winning one-act plays in the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre and staged readings of three additional Honorable Mention winners.  College level designers and emerging professional directors are engaged to bring the scripts to life on stage with age-appropriate actors.

Who can enter?

Playwrights must be high school students during the academic school year that their one-act plays are submitted to the Festival. Submissions are taken until June 1, and winners are notified by early July of every program year.

Who benefits?

This program serves hundreds each season. Teachers may elect to participate in our YPF Playwriting Residency, which features a sequence of FREE playwriting workshops for their students and a packet of additional activities and handouts to supplement artist visits. High school students not only receive in-class instruction but one-on-one mentoring as they draft and revise their play.  College students receive the opportunity to fulfill one of the design or technical positions required for our biennial showcase of YPF plays.  Non-professional actors of ALL ages are encouraged to audition for one of the six Showcase or Honorable Mention plays, which are directed by emerging and established Milwaukee directors.

How to apply?

For more information about auditioning for roles, click here.

For more information about design and production positions, click here.

Thanks to our generous EDUCATION SPONSORS, WHOSE SUPPORT MAKES THIS WORK POSSIBLE:

 

THE JEROME AND DEBORAH ARONSON THEATRE EDUCATION FUND