NINE NEW VOICES SOAR IN

PLAYS BY YOUNG WRITERS

 

Who:	Playwrights Project
What:t	Plays by Young Writers, a festival of winning scripts from the 22nd annual California Young Playwrights Contest Full productions: Elevated by Ariel Cowell, age 15, San Diego The Courier by John Glouchevitch, 18, Los Angeles Stage Directions by Thomas Hodges, 16, San Diego The Aftermath of Cassidy Joan by Katherine Quinn, 17, San Diego Readings: The Exploits of Crusher, Mighty Amazonian King by Nachiketa Baru, 10, San Diego Rain, Rain Go Away by Dana D. Walker Jr., 14, Escondido Once Upon a Muffin by Sarah Hsu (12), Chrisine Li (11) and Snow Zhu (12), San Diego
When:	January 11 - 21, 2007 (See schedule)
Where:	The Old Globe, Cassius Carter Centre Stage, Balboa Park, San Diego CA
Tickets:	Individual Seniors, Students, Military School Groups of 10 or more Other Groups *Opening Night (Jan. 12 or 13) *Both Opening Nights	$15 $12 $9 $10 groups of 10+ $50 includes reception $80 includes reception

San Diego -   Autobiography and imagination blend seamlessly in the 22nd season of Plays by Young Writers, winning scripts from the California Young Playwrights Contest, produced by Playwrights Project in association with The Old Globe at the Cassius Carter Centre Stage, January 11-21, 2007.  Selected from 234 submissions by teenagers statewide, 4 works will receive full professional productions and 3 will receive readings in this highly regarded festival of new voices.

The scripts being fully staged are Elevated by Ariel Cowell, aged 15, of San Diego; The Courier by John Glouchevitch, 18, of Los Angeles; Stage Directions by Thomas Hodges, 17, of San Diego; and The Aftermath of Cassidy Joan by Katherine Quinn, 17, of San Diego.

Ariel Cowell’s comedy Elevated takes place in the elevator of a posh New York apartment building, inspired by the Hotel Del Coronado, one of the playwright’s favorite buildings.  An unexpected friendship blossoms between an employee who has become a fixture in the building and a young tenant at her wit’s end.  Cowell wrote the script during a residency taught by Playwrights Project in her English class at University City High School and is revising with guidance from Judith Dolan, professor of theatre at UCSD.  George Ye directs actors Kat Ochsner and Jim Granby.

The Courier is a drama about a young soldier in WWII who grows to question his beliefs as he notifies one military family after another of a death in action.  John Glouchevitch wrote The Courier in a playwriting class at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, from which he graduated in June.  Stephen Metcalfe is mentoring the writer and staging the play with actors Staley Carter, Robert DeLillo, Renee Gandola, Fred Harlow, Andrew Miles, Joe Solazzo, and Tim West.

In Stage Directions by Thomas Hodges, three young characters try to make sense of love, in all its confusing facets.  The mishaps and yearnings of these gay men seem timeless and universal. Hodges graduated from Scripps Ranch High in June and now studies theatre at San Diego State University.  Ruff Yeager is mentoring Hodges and directing the script with actors Marcus Cortez, Kalif Price and Geoffrey Yeager.

The main character in Katherine Quinn’s The Aftermath of Cassidy Joan is a lonely teenager pulled in opposing directions by the breakup of her parents’ marriage.  Quinn was the only student in a creative writing workshop at High Tech High, San Diego, who tackled a play script.  A freshman student of film at UC Davis, Quinn is revising with help from Deborah Salzer. Delicia Turner Sonnenberg is staging the play with actors Yolanda Franklin, Craig Huisenga and Cindy Mersten.

Every festival performance will begin with readings of scripts by writers ages 14 and under. All five younger writers took part in playwriting residencies at their schools.  Nachiketa Baru was in the 4th grade when he began his play about a parrot and toucan who overturn a king in The Exploits of Crusher. Before submitting his play to the contest, Nachiketa further developed his script during a playwriting program in his 5th grade class at Solana Pacific Elementary, San Diego. Dana D. Walker, Jr. attended Hidden Valley Middle School, Escondido, when he dramatized the story of a boy desperate to put drug dealing behind him in Rain, Rain Go Away. Sarah Hsu, Christine Li  and Snow Zhu, the trio who wrote the fanciful Once Upon a Muffin, dreamed up their conceited heroine as 5th graders at Mesa Verde Middle School, San Diego.

Contest submissions were evaluated by theatre professionals who volunteer their time and expertise. The final readers, who selected scripts for full production, were Wayne Cook, Judith Dolan, Stephen Metcalfe, Patti Saraniero, Amanda Sitton and Annie Weisman.  All writers who requested feedback received individualized written critiques.   Evaluation criteria emphasized a sense of truth, imagination, fresh use of language, and grasp of dramatic structure.

Sponsors for Plays by Young Writers include the Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust, Target Stores, Helen K. and James S. Copley Foundation, and Kiwanis Club of La Jolla. Additional organizational support comes from the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Plays by Young Writers, professional productions of winning scripts from the California Young Playwrights Contest, opens at The Old Globe to the public on Friday, January 12 at 7:30 PM (Elevated and Stage Directions) and Saturday, January 13 at 7:30 PM (The Courier and Aftermath of Cassidy Joan).  Additional public performances are Friday, January 19 at 7:30 PM, Saturday, January 20 at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM, and Sunday, January 21 at 2:00 PM.  Tickets may be purchased from Playwrights Project and at the door, as available.    For tickets information contact Playwrights Project.