CENTERSTAGE Announces Honorees for 27th Annual Young Playwrights Festival

CENTERSTAGE has announced the honorees for this years' Young Playwrights Festival, an annual competition that welcomes student playwrights around the state to submit their original works. This year, more than 400 Maryland students in grades K-12 submitted plays. The honored plays that were selected will be showcased with workshops, in-school performances, and select pieces will be staged at CENTERSTAGE at the annual Young Playwrights Festival performance at CENTERSTAGE on Monday, May 6, at 7 pm.

All members of the community are invited to CENTERSTAGE for the 2013 Young Playwrights Festival performance on Monday, May 6. The evening is free and open to the public, and includes an awards ceremony recognizing honorees, staged readings of selected plays, and a reception in honor of all of the students who submitted scripts. The event is free; however, a $5 donation is suggested at the door. Reserve your tickets by calling the CENTERSTAGE box office at 410.332.0033.
The Young Playwrights Festival is presented by CENTERSTAGE's Department of Community Programs & Education, under the direction of Rosiland Cauthen, and is made possible through the generous support of our many community partners, including Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation, The P&G Fund of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Eggspectation, M&T Bank, Transamerica, Gianni's Italian Bistro, and the Maryland State Arts Council.
2013 Young Playwrights Festival Honorees

Staged Honorees

Phoebe Taylor
Brightly and Jade
Grade 1, Roland Park Country School, Baltimore City
New friends Brightly the Star and Jade the Moon take on a villain of astronomical proportions to rescue their loved ones in this story of friendship and bravery.

Evan Schmidt
The Socks
Grade 3, City Neighbors Charter School, Baltimore City
When 100-million-year-old Bob mistakes his Good Sock for his Bad Sock, he finds himself unable to trust any of his socks. He heads to the store to buy a new pair-but with a technology glitch and without exact change, his daily task becomes a mighty quest.

Shamerra McCoy
The Reflection
Grade 7, Sisters Academy of Baltimore, Baltimore City
To escape from her over-worked mother and her teasing brother, Aniesze hides away in her tree house, where she finds comfort, support, and guidance from a mirror bearing the reflection of someone she loves.

AiDan Healey
Sandwich of Knowledge
Grade 8, Bohemia Manor Middle School, Cecil County
Tune in to the highest-rated game show on TV to watch three competitors vie for the chance to eat the most delicious sandwich in the world, one that will grant its eater infinite wisdom and the ability to see all the truths of the world.

Laurel Hill
Don't Feed the Birds
Grade 11, Governor Thomas Johnson High School, Frederick County
When a precocious Girl Scout and a dejected businessman cross paths at a local park, an unlikely friendship full of provocation and surprising vulnerability takes hold.

Constance Green
Black Blues
Grade 11, City Neighbors High School, Baltimore City
Mae Belle, an aspiring dancer, and her boyfriend Sam, a printer for the Black Panther Party, juggle their relationship, their careers, and their family obligations in 1970s Chicago.

In-School Readings Honorees

William Gaines
Good Nanny, Bad Nanny
Grade 5, Southwest Baltimore Charter School, Baltimore City
A serial nanny-imposter strikes again, nearly convincing Nick and Nickey that their loving and generous Good Nanny has gone bad. The Bad Nanny's crime streak is broken when she messes with the wrong nanny.

Elijah McDaniels
Fumble Kaluski Sucky Detective
Grade 5, Southwest Baltimore Charter School, Baltimore City
Detective Fumble Kaluski longs to escape the shadow of his famed father, Sherlock Holmes. With the help of his assistant Chickeroon (aka Watson, Jr.), Fumble's big break might just be cracking the next murder case.

Debkanya Mitra
The Geography Bee
Grade 5, Chevy Chase Elementary School, Montgomery County
School newspaper journalist Rachel chronicles the fierce competition at the school Geography Bee. While most student geographers have friends to scheme and study with, new girl Rosie works independently towards her goal of qualifying for the National Geography Bee.

Lily DeBell
Thine Own Self
Grade 6, Garrison Forest School, Baltimore City
This poetic, behind-the-scenes look at a middle school's production of Hamlet follows the compelling journeys of four young women as they struggle with fitting-in, family pressures, and fulfilling their dreams.

Stella Kazibwe
Scarecrow Revolution
Grade 8, Harford Day School, Harford County
Suffering from poor work conditions and isolation from their families, Scarecrow Tim and his friend Scarecrow Ben decide to lead a revolution against the tyrannical farmers. As the violence escalates and both sides refuse to compromise, the situation takes a turn for the worse.

Emma Gromacki
The Society's Pill
Grade 8, Harford Day School, Harford County
The peace established when the Great War ended 88 years ago remains intact until 15-year-old Verena and her friend Zeno decide to trade nutrition pills. When the Society gets wind of it, there are grave repercussions for them and their families.

Megan Runge
More Clever
Grade 10, Catonsville High School, Baltimore County
When he makes a deal to pawn customers' souls, kindly pawn shop owner and riddle enthusiast Arthur Bean becomes fearful that none of his customers-including his estranged wife Elmina-take the deal seriously, forcing Arthur to outsmart the Devil himself.

The Playwright Project
The 410 LIFE
Grades 10, 11, 12, Baltimore Talent Development High School, Baltimore City
This collaborative collage integrates monologues, short stories, poetry, scene work, and visual mapping as it explores societal issues of life in Baltimore in 2012.

CENTERSTAGE, the State Theater of Maryland, celebrates its 50th Anniversary Season in 2012-13. The professional, nonprofit company serves as a local hub and national leader for provocative, entertaining theater and as a catalyst for conversation in the community. Each year, a broad range of productions in two intimate performance spaces attracts a highly diverse audience of more than 100,000 people-including more than 8,000 fiercely loyal members. Under the leadership of acclaimed playwright, actor, and director Kwame Kwei-Armah (Artistic Director) and national arts leader Stephen Richard (Managing Director), CENTERSTAGE enters its 50th year with a renewed dedication to the production of world-class theater in the heart of Baltimore.

CENTERSTAGE's 50th Anniversary is made possible by presenting partner M&T Bank, and support from DLA Piper, The Rouse Company Foundation, T. Rowe Price and the T. Rowe Price Foundation, Ellen and Ed Bernard, Stephanie and Ashton Carter, James and Janet Clauson, Lynn and Tony Deering and The Charlesmead Foundation, Jane and Larry Droppa, Terry H. Morgenthaler and Patrick Kerins, Judy and Scott Phares, Phil and Lynn Rauch, Jay and Sharon Smith, and Barbara Voss and Charles E. Noell, III; with additional support from Kathleen Hyle, Kenneth C. and Elizabeth M. Lundeen, and Sylvan/Laureate Foundation; and season media partners Maryland Public Television, The Baltimore Sun, WYPR, and WBAL.

CENTERSTAGE is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, the MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to non-profit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

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