Young Playwrights Festival

2014-2015 Young Playwrights Festival Showcase

March 19-22, 2015

MCT is celebrating young writers with its seventh Young Playwrights Festival Showcase, March 19-22, 2015. The Showcase features three one-act plays from the winners of our high school playwriting competition and is directed, designed, and performed by up-and-coming local professionals. All three one-acts will be performed each evening during the Showcase in the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre.

AS WE WAIT

by Sydney Schlager, Pius XI High School
[Mentor teacher: Peter Reeves]
Three high school seniors wait out the night before a hearing for possible expulsion.
Directed by Ken Williams |  Featuring Kara Foster, Eva Nimmer, Sasha Sigel, Shayne Steliga, Mitch Weindorf

3

by Hasani Kidd, Rufus King International School
[Mentor teacher: Anna Figlesthaler]
Three prisoners of a totalitarian regime unlock one another's secrets as they are forced to choose which of them will be executed.
Directed by Thomas J. Novak  |  Featuring Marques D. Causey, Anna Figlesthaler, Ryan H. Nelson, Nate Press, Sherrick Robinson, Roqushaun Settlers, Andrew Stachurski

STORAGE SPACE

by Nalee Praseutsack, Rufus King International School
[Mentor teacher: Anna Figlesthaler]
Three adult siblings, both blood-related and adopted, seek connection and forgiveness in the wake of the loss of their mother.
Directed by Mallory Metoxen  |  Featuring Libby Amato, Marcee Doherty-Elst, David Franz, Paul Matthew Madden, Sharon Nieman-Koebert

TICKETS: $18 Adult/Regular  |  $12 Student/Senior/MCT Subscriber
Order by phone 414.291.7800414.291.7800 |  Order ONLINE
Order in person at the Broadway Theatre Center Box Office (158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee) Monday thru Saturday from noon to 6:00 pm

Three additional plays have been selected for commendation by readers.  Honorable Mentions are as follows:

THE DANGER WITH STRANGERS by Ariana Santiago, Ronald Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School [Mentor teacher: Carrie Baker]

HIGH SCHOOL BLUES, INDIGOS AND VIOLETS by Anjelica Sylvas-Jones, Ronald Wilson Reagan College Preparatory High School [Mentor teacher: Carrie Baker]

WE WILL NOT GO by Hemi Wong, Rufus King International School [Mentor teacher: Anna Figlesthaler]

Co-sponsored by:
THE HERZFELD FOUNDATION
THE DEBORAH ARONSON THEATRE EDUCATION FUND
MORGAN STANLEY FOUNDATION

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!

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

DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2015

Young Wisconsin writers!  Submit your new one-act play to MCT's Young Playwrights Festival Playwriting Competition!  We are accepting entries for the 2015 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.  In June 2015, ten plays will be selected as finalists.  The Top Ten Plays of 2015 will then join the Top Ten Plays selected in 2016 for a final competition!

Of the twenty finalists, 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 2016-2017 MCT Young Playwrights Festival Showcase.  Three additional playwrights will receive Honorable Mentions and a cash prize.

Contact Marcella Kearns, Lead Educator/Literary Manager at MCT, for further information: 414.276.8842414.276.8842 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.  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 July 1 of every program year.

Who benefits?

This program serves hundreds each season. Teachers may elect to participate in our YPF Playwriting Residency, which features four 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 three winning plays, which are directed by emerging Milwaukee directors.

How to apply?

For more information about auditioning for roles, click here.

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

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

 

THE DEBORAH ARONSON THEATRE EDUCATION FUND