City Theatre Names 2015 Young Playwrights Contest Winners

City Theatre has announced the six winners of our 2015 Young Playwrights Contest. These winning playwrights will develop their scripts in collaboration with professional theatre artists in productions on City Theatre's Hamburg Studio stage during the 16th annual Young Playwrights Festival, September 29 - October 9, 2015.

Middle School Winners:

THE BUS STOP

by Tara Marsh

Lincoln Junior-Senior High School

CENTRAL PARK DAYS

by Korey Grecek

Keystone Oaks Middle School

TOP HAT

by Kalin Jeffers

Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12

High School Winners:

GLAD YOU'RE HERE

by Sasha Edwards

Washington High School

THE LORD'S PRAYER

by Ciara Sing

Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12

ORCHIDS IN MANHATTAN

by Michelle Do

North Hills High School

In addition to producing the six winning plays, City Theatre will also feature readings of four plays that were selected as 2015 Young Playwrights Contest "Honorable Mentions," as follows:

CUBICLES

by Kaitlyn Sharkey

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School

THE FAIRY TALE DETECTIVE

by Siddarth Madala

North Allegheny Intermediate High School

THANKSGIVING AT DENNY'S

By Maya Frizzell

Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12

'TIL DEATH DO US PART

by Sarah Scheid

Shady Side Academy

The winning and honorable mention one-act plays were selected from a record number of over 350 Young Playwrights Contest submissions. Students in grades 7-12 from schools in Western Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia are eligible to participate. Each script is read by at least two members of the Literary Committee, comprised of 50 local and national theatre professionals. All writers who submit scripts receive constructive criticism and encouraging suggestions for continued revisions.

"Young Playwrights encourages student writers to make their voices heard and to take ownership of their work in a professional, artistic environment," says Kristen Link, City Theatre's Director of Education and Accessibility. "Through our playwriting program, students not only learn a new craft, but also discover different ways to think critically, connect with their peers, and form relationships within the local theatre community."

"Each year it is a joy to see the incredibly imaginative and strikingly diverse work submitted to the Young Playwrights Festival," says Clare Drobot, Director of New Play Development at City. "Selected from a wonderfully strong pool of applicants, the six winning scripts will take audiences from the Roaring Twenties in Manhattan to present day small town Pennsylvania. The plays tackle an array of subject matter including keeping a small restaurant afloat in trying economic times, familial strife, love, death, and bank robberies. There is even a play without any dialogue!"

Young Playwrights Festival tickets will go on sale September 8, online at CityTheatreCompany.org or by phone at: 412.431.CITY (2489). The full festival schedule will be announced in August.

Young Playwrights is City Theatre's comprehensive, dynamic approach to arts education serving teachers, students, and the Pittsburgh community. The program fulfills state and Common Core academic standards, including Arts & Humanities and English Language Arts. Four major components make up the Young Playwrights program: the Young Playwrights Teacher Institute, In-School Workshops, the Young Playwrights Contest, and the Young Playwrights Festival.

City Theatre launches its 41st season next fall with The Night Alive by Conor McPherson, on the Main Stage October 9 - November 1, 2015. Located on Pittsburgh's historic South Side, City Theatre specializes in new plays, commissioning and producing work by playwrights including Daniel Beaty, Jessica Dickey, Christopher Durang, Michael Hollinger, Willy Holtzman, Tarell McCraney, and Madeleine George. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, Managing Director James McNeel, and a 38-member Board of Directors, City Theatre's mission is to provide an artistic home for the development and production of contemporary plays of substance and ideas that engage and challenge a diverse audience. CityTheatreCompany.org

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