YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS PROGRAM & COMPETITION
THE 2021 YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS WINNERS ARE!
Covid Couples Therapy by Orion Masterson, Annika Shiman, and Ely White, 8th graders at Marlboro School (Ani Shaeffer, teacher); Decisions, a monologue by Leon Bell, 10th grader at Long Trail School (Anna Bean, teacher); The Destiny of Fate by Lily Hutcheson, 9th grader at Burr and Burton Academy (Jim Raposa, teacher); Inner Anxiety, a monologue by Christian Stridsberg, a senior at U32 (Erin Galligan-Baldwin, teacher); Unspeakable by Ezra Blankenbaker, a senior at Long Trail School (Luke Krueger, teacher); Deductions by Anneka K. Yuengling 9th grader at Woodstock Union High School (Michelle Fountain, teacher); and Rusty and Alabama by Cameron Burdick, 6th grader at Brownington Central School (Skye Devarney, teacher).
Honorable mentions include:
Michael by Logan Bushway, 7th grader at VTVLC (Edith Ainsley, teacher); Quantum Mech-Antics by Noah Diedrich, a senior at Arlington Memorial High School (Gayna Cross, teacher); and Rhythm City by Frasier Bergman and Eliza Mikheev, 6th graders at Maple Street School (Conor Welch, teacher).
ABOUT YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS
For the past 8 years Dorset Theatre Festival has provided opportunities for regional middle and high school students to learn about playwriting and create a play of their own. This year, Dorset has taken their classes online for the first time, making the annual Vermont tradition available to students and teachers everywhere.
The Young Playwrights Program allows our participating young playwrights a hands-on experience working not only with professional theatre educators, but also professional playwrights and up-and-coming playwrights from top masters degree programs around the country.
Using the art of dramatic writing in theatre, our program seeks to engage students’ imaginations, broaden their means of expression, foster a sense of community, and increase their sense of self worth, literacy skills, and appreciation for the arts.
Click HERE to download a PDF with information about the 2021 Young Playwrights Program & Competition.
CURRENT DIGITAL CLASSES & ASSIGNMENTS
LEARN TO WRITE A PLAY! A course designed for middle and high school students to learn the basics of the art form and maybe even write their own play.
2021 ENROLLMENT
JOIN US ONLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME! give your students an opportunity to explore the fundamentals of playwriting.
COMPETITION & AWARD CEREMONY
Participating students have the option of submitting their final drafts to a panel of professional playwrights and theatre artists. Register for the virtual event on FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021 @ 4:00PM ETS
MEET TEACHING ARTIST, Heidi Armbruster
Heidi Armbruster is a New York based theater artist dedicated to creating new work and discovering new approaches to classical literature and theater.
“Personally, I have been awakened to the essential need of storytelling - and its power to heal and transform - particularly in crisis. I have been continually amazed by how meaningful it is to give students the opportunity to explore their imaginations, permission to craft their own stories, and confidence to put them to paper.”
“I was in awe of the work each of the teachers had done with their students, and amazed by the quality of the students’ questions, curiosities, and creativity put into practice with words”
“I was delighted by the creativity and dedication of the students and teachers I met while leading workshops in Vermont schools. I met keen observers, kind people, and talented writers,” said Scarpa, adding, “Those who attend the culminating event will no doubt be impressed and inspired.”
“Every class I visited through the Young Playwrights Competition was bursting with imagination, enthusiasm, and curiosity. The students were eager to create worlds and characters and stories. My favorite moment in each of these classes is when a student realized that these worlds and stories were theirs; the choices for what should happen and how were entirely up to them. Engaging students with the arts encourages them to find their own voices, and to explore the world around them and empathize with others in new ways.”
