NINE NEW VOICES SOAR IN

PLAYS BY YOUNG WRITERS

Who:                Playwrights Project  

What:               Plays by Young Writers, a festival of winning scripts from the

22^nd annual California Young Playwrights Contest  

When:              January 11 – 21, 2007 (See schedule below) 

Where:             The Old Globe, Cassius Carter Centre Stage, Balboa Park 

Tickets:               Individual                                                 $15

                           Seniors, students, military                         $12

                           School Groups of 10 or more                    $9

             Other Groups of 10 or more $10

                           Opening Night (includes reception)           $40  

How:                Ticket sales and information at Playwrights Project

(619) 239-8222

write@playwrightsproject.com                       

Website:          www.playwrightsproject.com 

San Diego –  Autobiography and imagination blend seamlessly in the 22^nd 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. 

Full productions          Playwright                                                 Director 

Elevated                      Ariel Cowell, age 15, San Diego                 George Yé 

The Courier                 John Glouchevitch, 18, Los Angeles            Stephen Metcalfe 

Stage Directions          Thomas Hodges, 17, San Diego                  Ruff Yeager 

The Aftermath of

Cassidy Joan               Katherine Quinn, 17, San Diego                  Delicia Turner Sonneberg 

Ariel Cowell’s comedy Elevated takes place in the elevator of a posh New York apartment building, inspired by the Del Coronado Hotel, 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 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 after another military family of a death in action.  John Glouchevitz 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, Brian Salmon and Joe Solazzo. 

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 age 14 or younger, directed by David Tierney. 

Readings                                                        Playwright                 

The Exploits of Crusher, Mighty                    Nachiketa Baru, 10, San Diego

Amazonian King  

Rain, Rain Go Away                                        Dana D. Walker, Jr., 14, Escondido 

Once Upon a Muffin                                       Sarah Hsu (12), Christine Li (11) and

                                          Snow Zhu (12), San Diego 

All five younger writers took part in playwriting residencies at their schools.  Nachiketu Baru was a 6^th grader at Solana Pacific Elementary in San Diego when he created the parrot and toucan who overturn a king in The Exploits of Crusher. Dana Walker attended Hidden Valley Middle School, Escondido, when he dramatized the story of a boy desperate to put drug dealing behind him. The trio who wrote the fanciful Once Upon a Muffin dreamed up their conceited heroine as 6^th 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 and information, contact Playwrights Project at:   

(619) 239-8222           write@playwrightsproject.com  www.playwrightsproject.com