Ensemble Theatre Company Accepting Applications For 3rd Annual Young Playwrights Festival

Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) is now accepting applications for its third Annual Young Playwrights Festival for aspiring writers ages 13-19. This five-month-long program gives young writers a safe and nurturing forum to learn about the craft of playwriting and develop a 10-minute play to be produced and staged with professional directors and actors for public audiences.

The program will accept up to 20 students from Santa Barbara County. There is no cost to participate.

Students in the Young Playwrights Festival program will receive multiple and varied opportunities to develop their creativity and gain artistic skills. Phase One includes weekly classroom instruction focusing on the study of playwriting techniques, a brief history of American theater, and a lively forum for discussion and critique of the students' work. At the completion of this phase, students will have completed a draft of a 10-minute play. In phase Two, a professional playwright will provide one-on-one guidance to the students in the revision process. Phase Three gives students the opportunity to participate in a live casting session with professional actors, engage in a creative collaboration with an experienced theater director and actors to produce a live staged reading in front of an audience, and participate in an on-stage talk-back session with audience members.

"The development of storytellers for the future of the American theater may be one of the most valuable youth educational programs that ETC can offer the Santa Barbara community," said McDonald, who began as ETC's first full-time Director of Education and Outreach in June 2018.

The deadline to apply is December 22, 2019. Applications may be found online at https://etcsb.org/education/young-playwrights-festival.

This year's festival received a $16,200 "Youth Arts Action" grant award from the California Arts Council to support projects for youth that operate outside of school time in artistic venues, in community settings, and on school sites. This program encourages relevant, dynamic, and innovative community building and learning through youth-focused arts and culture projects.

ETC is one of 244 grantees chosen for the Youth Arts Action program. The award was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, with granted funds totaling a projected $24,508,541 for 2018-19, the highest investment in statewide arts programming since the 2000-01 fiscal year.

"Arts and culture are inextricably linked to our humanity," said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council Chair. "They serve as a universal touchpoint for understanding and addressing our societal issues-dismantling inequity, healing trauma, reframing justice, inspiring truth and shaping futures. The Council is humbled to support the vital work of ETC and its passionate efforts to make a better California for us all."

To view a complete listing of all Youth Arts Action grantees, visit: http://arts.ca.gov/programs/program_files/1819/CurrentGrantees/FY18-19_Project_Descriptions_YAA.pdf.

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