Previews: Script2Stage2Screen Presents YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS CELEBRATION

Script2Stage2Screen will celebrate young playwrights by presenting fully staged readings of two original one-act plays, Main Character and The Search for Snowflake,written by award-winning playwright, Brooklyn Rutledge, when she was a freshman at Paloma Valley High School in Menifee, Ca. 

The plays will be directed by Deborah Harmon, a veteran TV, screen, and stage actor. She has received Desert Theater League Star Awards for acting and directing here in the Coachella Valley. This is her first time directing for S2S2S.

Brooklyn has been a long-time fan of the theater, but says she never considered playwriting until a teacher recommended it.  In 2022 her entry in the Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival was awarded first prize.  Says Brooklyn, “Writing Main Character was one of the most fun experiences of my life.  It’s amazing to see something you thought up come to life in front of you and I’m so excited to share these plays with you all.”

Main Character revolves around Cass as she peacefully enjoys her junior year. She’s got some great friends, decent grades and is content just to coast through it in the background. See, the way she sees high school is that there's always a main character, there's a story to play out and she’s got a pretty good idea she knows exactly what the current one is. It’s easy to see the shy nerdy girl crushing on the popular jock. A little cliche if you ask her but it's not like she must worry about it anyways. She knows there's nothing special about her, she’s not a main character. But when class projects and cafeteria mishaps put her on center stage, she’s suddenly a much bigger part of the story than she ever thought she could be. 

The Search for Snowflake relates the story of Catarina, or Cat for short, a young woman who adores her cat.  She is very anxious and shy when talking to new people but would do anything for her cat who has suddenly gone missing.  During her search she encounters an eclectic collection of characters, including a confused neighbor, an actual cat lady, a priest, a little boy and a grocery clerk, as well as a dog who delights in the cat treats left by Cat.

Script2Stage2Screen is the performing arts project of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Desert (UUCOD), 72425 Via Vail in Rancho Mirage. Performances are at UUCOD on Friday, April 19 and Saturday April 20, 2024, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 cash or check at the door, or they may be purchased via PayPal on the website: www.script2stage2screen.com. 

Reservations for ‘will call’ may be made at script2stage2screen@gmail.com.

About Script2Stage2Screen:

Script2Stage2Screen is an innovative performing arts organization for the development of original productions on the stage. Formed in 2010 by a small group of playwrights, S2S2S started as a vehicle to premiere original plays. Since then, it has developed into a diverse performing arts organization in the Coachella Valley with the mission of highlighting social justice, families, sexual equality, the dignity of humankind, and the joy and humor of life.

About the Artist

As a freshman at Paloma Valley High School in Menifee, Brooklyn was an avid 4.0 student, even if she did get caught daydreaming in class. She played on varsity volleyball and on a club volleyball team. The joy of being on the court, as well as surfing, goofing off with friends, and spending time with her family are just some of the things that made her love life and inspired her to write. Whether it be crazy fantasy stories or silly little realistic ones, she loves coming up with stories and getting to hear those of others. A fan of the theater for a long time, she always thought there was something so magical about live shows, but she never even considered playwriting until she discovered the Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival two years ago. Suddenly a whole new avenue of writing was open, and she couldn’t have been happier to have discovered it. She started multiple plays before writing Main Character, but as she says: “As soon as I began writing it, I was all in on this one because I knew it would be one of my favorites ever. As a high school girl myself it was so much fun to explore how we experience things, and how we see ourselves.”

To post a comment, you must register and login.