Palm Beach Dramaworks Announces Fifth Annual Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest Winners

Palm Beach Dramaworks has announced the 10 winners of its fifth annual Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest (YPC). The plays will be read by professional actors in front of an audience at the Don & Anne Brown Theatre on March 9 at 7:00pm. Tickets are free, but reservations are required.

Macy's and Kids' Dreams are the sponsors of the YPC, which was open to students in grades 9-12 throughout Palm Beach County. The winners were chosen by a group of theatre professionals.

The contest was the only one of PBD's education programs that was able to go on last year when the theatre was shut down: the readings were done online and the audience watched on Zoom. This year's winners have the opportunity to experience their plays together with an audience.

"For the live return of our 2022 contest, PBD sought to inspire young people to write plays that support their vision for a stronger community and world," said Director of Education and Community Engagement Gary Cadwallader, who will direct all the readings. "We know young people are passionate about social justice, and we wanted to embolden their creativity and their sense of responsibility. These 10 young playwrights are incredibly insightful writers who tapped into our theme this year, Mission Everyone! I am honored to help guide the work of these extremely observant and thoughtful emerging artists."

Mission Everyone! was an idea Cadwallader shared with teachers at the beginning of the school year. He asked that they offer various prompts to their students as a springboard for thought: "I stand for. . .," "I fight for . . .," "Together we can . . .," etc. The result, he said, is that the young playwrights "wrote about bold topics that deeply matter to them."

The winning playwrights, in alphabetical order, are:

Schnyder Albert Palm Beach Gardens HS Senior

The Bliss of Ignorance

Bianca Borchers Park Vista HS Junior

Crossover

Gage Callenius G-Star School of the Arts Senior

The First Date Pro League

Felicity Dillow Royal Palm Beach HS Senior

I Thought I Was an Alien

Kassidy Eaton Royal Palm Beach HS Junior

In Your Head

Miah Farmer American Heritage School Senior

Dear Future Self

Daniela Guarino American Heritage School Junior

Once in a Lifetime

Wuendy Ortiz Lake Worth HS Junior

Forbidden Love

Emeline Smith The Benjamin School Senior

On the Other Side

Joseph Tralongo American Heritage School Senior

The Shackled Buffoon

Felicity Dillow also won in 2021.

Each of the student playwrights will be awarded a $250 prize and receive a keepsake anthology of the winning plays.

The Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest was established to give teens the opportunity to write about subjects that are meaningful to them, and to inspire teachers to incorporate playwriting into their classrooms. The young playwrights are invited to participate in the rehearsal process, where they learn how professional playwrights, directors, and actors work together to revise and strengthen their plays. Meredith Bartmon and Emma Sue Harris are the dramaturgs.

All guests at the theatre are required to wear suitable masks that completely cover the nose, mouth, and under the chin for their entire visit. Anyone who does not comply will be escorted out of the theatre. PBD also requires documentation (printed or digital): Fully vaccinated guests have the option of voluntarily presenting documentation showing full vaccination status. Full vaccination is defined as the completion of the final dose at least 14 days prior to the performance date. Alternatively, all guests can, instead, present documentation of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result conducted within 72 hours prior to the performance, or a negative COVID-19 Antigen test result conducted within 24 hours prior to the scheduled performance start time. Matching photo ID is required for everyone 18 years of age and older.

To reserve your free ticket to the performance on March 9, visit

www.palmbeachdramaworks.org or call the box office at 561.514.4042, x2.

To post a comment, you must register and login.