FST Reveals Winners Of Annual Youth Playwriting Competition

Florida Studio Theatre has announced the winning plays of this year's annual youth playwriting competition. Now in its 33rd year, FST's WRITE A PLAY program is an arts-in-education initiative, providing students with the example, the inspiration, and the skills to write their own original plays. Over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year, FST received submissions from more than 8,000 playwrights.

This year, the WRITE A PLAY experience culminates on Florida Studio Theatre's five-theatre campus with Young Playwrights Festival (YPF) Day, an annual celebration of children's imagination and creativity. On Saturday, May 18, participating students, teachers, and families from across the state of Florida will come together to enjoy live performances of the year's winning plays brought to life by professional actors.

This year's compilation of winning plays is titled The Power of Peanut Butter & Other Winning Plays. Following these live performances, playwrights are honored in an awards ceremony and are presented with certificates and medals on stage. The 2024 Young Playwrights Festival Day is a private event, reserved for the winning playwrights, their families, and educators who participated in this year's WRITE A PLAY program.

“There is absolutely nothing like the excitement and pride these young playwrights show when they see something that they wrote and imagined on stage,” said Caroline Saldivar. “It takes courage to share your creativity and express yourself, but it is so important. We're looking forward to coming together with friends, family, and the community to celebrate the plays of these amazing young writers.”

Thanks to generous support from individual donors, WRITE A PLAY continues to inspire the next generation of playwrights. Support from the Community Foundation of Sarasota, Manatee Community Foundation, The Patterson Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Suncoast Credit Union Foundation, Publix Super Markets Charities, Wells Fargo Foundation, Embracing Our Differences, and the Sister Cities Association of Sarasota. also made this year's WRITE A PLAY program possible. WRITE A PLAY is also sponsored in part by the Bank of America Client Foundation and by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information about FST's WRITE A PLAY program, please contact FST's Children's Theatre Associate, Kacy Jones, at kjones@floridastudiotheatre.org.