Florida Studio Theatre Announces Young Playwright Winners!

Florida Studio Theatre Announces

Winners in International Young Playwrights Contest

From Seminole County, Florida to Sarasota and as far away as Israel and Scotland, young writers have received the news that they are winners as Florida Studio Theatre announced this year's Young Playwrights Festival honorees.

Each year, Florida Studio Theatre receives thousands of play submissions for its festival. The best of these are selected for inclusion in UNDER SIX, an anthology of plays written by children in grades six and under. Performed by professional actors, UNDER SIX opens April 17 and runs through May 19 in FST's Keating Theatre. During the five-week run of the show, more than 11,000 local school children from Sarasota and Manatee counties will see the winning plays written by children their own age.

From the hilarious Last Night I Dreamed I Married a Chicken to the poignant The Newcomer, "each winning entry provides a unique perspective on life from the vantage point of young people," says Kate Alexander, Associate Director of FST. "They see what we don't see, hear what we can't any more and feel what we've forgotten as adults. To quote eminent thinker, Alice Miller, --The child comes from a world we once deeply knew, but have long since forgotten."

On May 6^th, winners will be treated to a production of their winning plays on a special day dedicated in their honor. Following the plays, winners, their educators and families will be honored at a special award ceremony at Holley Hall at 3:15 pm. They will receive a medal of honor and a certificate stating that "the Ancient Greeks gave medals of honor not only to their soldiers, but also to their playwrights – because it took as much courage to write as it does to go into battle." In a recognition speech, the students are lauded for their courage to put their thoughts down on paper. The award ceremony is one of the few in the country to award young writers.

Florida Studio Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival is the culmination of the WRITE A PLAY program and a part of the Sarasota Festival of New Plays. FST's WRITE A PLAY program, currently in its twelfth year, has touched more than a million children, bringing the appreciation and love of writing to the classroom. The program continues to expand, thanks in part to grants from such organizations as the Sarasota County Arts Council, a Tourist Development Funded Program; the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

With the help of the Sarasota Sister Cities Association, the WRITE A PLAY program went international this year sending FST's Associate Director Kate Alexander and 2 teaching artists to Tel Mond, Israel. Each year FST receives more plays from children in other countries, and was thrilled at the chance to reach out to the students in Israel directly. Additionally, 2 Israeli educators are making their way to Sarasota to see their students' winning plays be performed on May 6^th.

The Sarasota Festival of New Plays is a part of FST's ongoing commitment to new play development. During the festival, FST presents new plays by more than 30 writers. FST puts the spotlight on aspiring writers with the Young Playwrights Festival and on the newest voices in American contemporary theatre with the Richard and Betty Burdick New Play Reading Series. In addition, two World Premiere productions will grace the Cabaret and Mainstage.

Florida Studio Theatre, known as "Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre," was founded in 1973 as a small touring company. Since then, it has established itself as a major force in American Theatre. Florida Studio Theatre wishes to thank the sponsors of the WRITE A PLAY program: the Sarasota County Arts Council, a Tourist Development Funded Program; the Florida Arts Council; the National Endowment for the Arts; Bank of America Foundation, Claude A. and Blanche McCubbin Abbott Charitable Trust; Colonial Bank, Esther M. Mertz Charitable Trust; Florida Winefest & Auction, Inc.; Hegner Family Foundation; Hess Foundation; Kates Foundation; Michael Saunders & Company; New York Times Company Foundation; Publix Super Markets Charities; Roberta Leventhal Sudakoff Foundation; The Victoria Leopold Foundation; Verizon; and Wachovia Foundation.

A complete list of winners follows.