Palm Beach Dramaworks announces that 10 students from Bak Middle School of the Arts and five from Eagles Landing Middle School are the winners of the inaugural Young Playwrights 1-Minute Play Contest.
Inspired by PBD’s popular Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest for high school students, this new initiative is open to all Palm Beach County students in grades six through eight and challenges them to tell a complete story in just 60 seconds.
The plays will receive a staged reading by professional actors in front of an audience at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre on Sunday, April 30 at 2 p.m. Tickets are free, but reservations are required.
“It’s important for young people to write stories that reflect who they are and what they’re thinking about at this moment in time,” said Director of Education and Community Engagement Gary Cadwallader, who is directing all 15 plays. “That’s why PBD created the Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest for high school students, along with introducing them to the joy of writing for live theatre.”
“The program has been so successful, and the enthusiasm of the students has been so gratifying, that we now want to spark creativity in middle school students. I’m so impressed with the wide variety of styles in the winning plays, which include poignant stories about family and comedies that twist reality. I’m really excited about developing these plays.”
WINNERS
Bak Middle School of the Arts (Teacher: Eric Frederickson)
Tie-Dye Disaster by Amber Fowler
Thirteenth Time the Charm by Tyler Hiers
Tough Times by Devin Jackson
Friendship Fanatic Addison Kleinmann
That Silly Toy by Emma Lupowitz
Home by Lila Mackenzie
I’m Not Ready by Anthony Osorio
Exposed! By Isabella Sande-Wolff
Ana by Kate Velez
Eagles Landing Middle School (Teacher: Leah Carolan)
F as in Fail by Juliette Carrion
A Friendship Beginning by Sarah Esmail
Dog on the Block by Skylar Gartner
A Boy and his Dog by Christian Kuhn
Reborn and Alive by Jordan Young
The winners were chosen by a group of theatre professionals. Each of the student playwrights will be awarded a $100 prize and receive a keepsake anthology of the winning plays.
To reserve a free ticket to the performance on April 30, visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org or call the box office at 561.514.4042, x2. The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street.
