New York, NY – August 19, 2020 – AudienceView‘s consumer platform and online community, TheaterMania, is excited to announce the expansion of its inaugural Young Playwrights Contest into an online festival following the success of the nationwide competition. The festival, which is scheduled to become an annual tradition, will stream live via the TheaterMania Young Playwrights Festival website from Friday, August 28 through Sunday, August 30, 2020. The event will be produced, directed, written and performed entirely by students.
The contest was launched in May, inviting high school students to submit one-act plays to be judged for creativity and originality by an esteemed panel of industry professionals, with the winning playwright showcasing his or her work in a virtual reading as the main prize.
“We kicked off our first Young Playwrights Contest as we saw high school productions across the United States being canceled due to COVID-19. We thought this would be an excellent project for students to work on from home because it encourages individual expression and gives young people a voice while encouraging the art of writing for the stage,” said Rosemary Maggiore, Publisher of TheaterMania and Vice President of Consumer Brands for AudienceView. “We received so many fantastic scripts, which made the judging process extremely difficult. We knew we had to do more to showcase and celebrate these talented young playwrights so we decided to launch a festival rather than a single reading.”
The judges said they were “blown away by the originality, urgency and mastery of this next generation of playwrights,” adding that all of the writers who submitted plays have a unique and passionate vision, and that each of the plays deserves to be performed on stage. “These young playwrights give us great hope for the future of the American stage.”
“It is important for TheaterMania to use its platform to give rise to new voices, so we have agreed to showcase up to 15 readings, including the winning play, two runners up and 12 honorable mentions,” said Maggiore. “Our high school interns will coordinate the readings, the actors, the releases and ultimately organize the festival dates. We also applaud Peggy Helman, a recent high school graduate who has been helping with the contest, for her idea of turning this contest into a festival. Next year we hope to stage these readings in front of a live audience.”
Information about the playwrights and winning plays is available via theatermania.com/ypf.
TheaterMania thanks the sponsors of the contest including The Barrow Group, which is offering students a 20% discount on their courses, The SOOP Theatre Company and Broadway & Beyond Theatricals. Additional sponsors for the festival are welcome and may reach out via contest@theatermania.com.
About TheaterMania
For over 20 years, TheaterMania has provided essential news, reviews and ticketing information to theater-loving audiences in North America and in the UK with our WhatsOnStage property. With over 23-million active audience members, TheaterMania continues to be the impartial and passionate voice for the performing arts. Consumers can also access curated ticket offers for upcoming events, including streaming shows from Broadway to Los Angeles and beyond.
About AudienceView
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