CENTERSTAGE has announced the honorees for the 26th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. More than 300 students from across Maryland submitted plays, which were then evaluated by CENTERSTAGE staff and artists. The final honorees will have their plays workshopped and then either performed in the students’ schools or at the Young Playwrights Festival performance at CENTERSTAGE on Monday, April 30, at 7 p.m. Read on for the names of the honorees.
All members of the community are invited to CENTERSTAGE for the Young Playwrights Festival. The annual awards ceremony will include staged readings of selected plays, recognition of honorees, and a reception in honor of all of the students who submitted scripts. The event is free; however, a $5 donation is suggested at the door.
Groups up to 10 can reserve their tickets online.
Staged reading at CENTERSTAGE, honorees
- The third grade class at City Neighbors Charter School, Baltimore City. “Penguins, Donuts, and Thievery – Oh My!” A penguin gets caught stealing jewelry, and the chase is on! Two donut-loving mall cops set out to catch the criminal, but they’re outsmarted at every turn. A hilarious game of cat and mouse—or rather birds and badges—ensues.
- Elijah Aren Gur-Arie, grade 5, Chevy Chase Elementary School, Montgomery County. “The CEO.” Joe is a content computer programmer at a big corporation. When his CEO decides to retire, and a greedy colleague plans to take over the company, Joe realizes that the only solution is to become CEO himself. The only problem: Joe’s secret past stands in his way.
- Belle Dallam, grade 6, Harford Day School, Harford County. “When Pigs Fly.” Life in the pig-pen couldn’t be better for Sam and Willie. But somehow Willie still longs for more—in fact, he’s determined to fly. But as his quest to build a flying device takes its toll on him, how will he ever outwit the farmer’s wife?
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Cole Crampton, grade 8, Loyola Blakefield, Baltimore County. “Was He Ever There?” A doting mother sees her son abducted, only to discover that all records of him have also vanished. Undeterred, she begins a search to reclaim this missing piece of her life.
- Daniel Kolodkin, grade 12, Baltimore Lab School, Baltimore City. “Good People.” This comedy takes a peek into the home life of a Baltimore power couple as they debate food, fashion, politics, and what’s best for their 14-year-old son.
In-school/community readings
- Liam McConnell & Roric Coletta, grade 3, Midtown Academy, Baltimore City. “The Three Little Plusses and the Big Bad Minus.”
- Isabelle Simmons, grade 5, Montessori International Children’s House, Anne Arundel County. “It’s Locked!”
- Samuel McCullough, grade 6, Bluford Drew Jameson STEM Academy, Baltimore City. “Paranormal Ghost Activity.”
- Tamia Bailey, grade 7, Sisters Academy of Baltimore, Baltimore City. “Is There Somebody Out There.”
- Stella Kazibwe, grade 7, Harford Day School, Harford County. “GrANNIE.”
- Tori Chambers, grade 12, Arlington Baptist (H.O.M.E.) Program, Baltimore County. “Secrets Within.”
- Meaghan Menzel, grade 12, Governor Thomas Johnson High School, Frederick County. “The Unfortunate Incident of the Boy and the Bridge.”
- Sunny Minihane, grade 12, The Park School of Baltimore, Baltimore County. “A Painter’s Model.”
The Young Playwrights Festival is presented by CENTERSTAGE’s Department of Community Programs & Education. For more information on the Young Playwrights Festival, contact the Department of Community Programs & Education at either 410-986-4050 or education@centerstage.org.