Chicago Students’ Plays Come to Life With Pegasus Players 24th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, 1/7-1/31

Pegasus Players will kick off the New Year with its 24th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, a professional production of three winning one-act plays written by Chicago high school students.  This year's production will be performed at Pegasus Players, 1145 W. Wilson Avenue in the O'Rourke Center at Truman College, Chicago, January 7-31, 2010.  The official Opening Night Ceremony is Monday, January 11, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

An annual Chicago tradition and the oldest of its kind in the country, Young Playwrights
Festival (YPF) is a 16-month-long cycle of workshops, performances and special programs.  This year, YPF received over 800 plays written by teenagers throughout Chicago, marking a record number of submissions.  YPF showcases the next generation of playwrights, encouraging the development of independent, high-level thinking and enhancing an appreciation of reading, writing and cultural diversity.

"Through YPF, Pegasus Players promotes playwriting to develop a new generation of writers and theatre-goers for the stage," said Ilesa Duncan, Festival Director.  "This program is about the written word, which is the foundation of theatre. It gives students an opportunity to have a professional experience as a playwright-an apprenticeship, if you will-to hone their ideas and their creativity.  The students learn the power of theatre and how it can convey emotion, history and culture, connecting people in real and powerful ways.  Every year is a unique chance to see these fresh minds find their voice and grow as young artists."

The three winning students receive $500, a full production of their scripts, and a professional playwriting mentor to work with them during pre-production.  Seven finalists will each receive $100, and all those in the final round, including winners, finalists, and ten Honorable Mentions, will receive plaques commemorating their participation in YPF.  These students will all be honored at the Opening Night Ceremony.  This year's winners are Gabriella Bonamici, Kat Blackburn and GixiAng Lee, who come from three different schools across Chicago.   This year's directors are Duncan, Kimberly Senior and Edward Torres, and this year's mentors are Andrew Hinderaker, Mia McCullough and Marisa Wegrzyn.

About the YPF Winners

Gabriella Bonamici – The Nowhere People - Whitney Young High School
Teacher:  Jim English
Directed by Kimberly Senior, mentored by Andrew Hinderaker

Synopsis:  The Nowhere People follows Ernie, who moves into a new building following the death of his wife.  His next door neighbor is obsessed with building a machine to catch the ghosts living in her pantry and send them back to the other world, and Ernie soon gets caught up in her quest.

GixiAng Lee – Roller Coaster - Northside College Prep
Teacher:  Ebykepreye Porri
Directed by Edward Torres, mentored by Marisa Wegrzyn

Synopsis:  Strangers Effie and Milo are stuck at the top of a rollercoaster.  As it becomes clear the repairs are painfully slow, they embark on a topsy-turvy battle of wits, discovering they have more in common than expected.

Kat Blackburn – deliver me from evil - Lincoln Park High School
Teacher:  Bart Hanson
Directed by Ilesa Duncan, mentored by Mia McCullough

Synopsis:  A young woman named Magdelina journeys through a poetic fever-dream as she struggles to reclaim herself after a fifth hospitalization.  Her therapist attempts to navigate through her emotional minefield, rife with crises of self-injury, sexual orientation and abuse.

About the Directors

Ilesa Duncan (deliver me from evil) has overseen the past four Young Playwrights Festivals, working in 45 Chicago schools and receiving 3,000 plays in competition, as well as directing Dine N Hash (YPF 2009), Blooming Flowers in Weeds (YPF 2008), In Your Dreams (YPF 2007) and Grace (YPF 2006).  As a director, she has worked in Chicago with Victory Gardens, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, Rivendell, Estrogen Fest, Writer's Theatre, Arena Stage, and the ALLIANCE THEATRE.  Most recent credits include Hope VI (Chicago Dramatists), The Shape of a Girl (Pegasus Players), and A Clockwork Orange (The Theatre School/DePaul).

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