For Immediate Release: March 24, 2005
Media Contact: Patricia Dill, Delaware Theatre Company, 302.594.1104 x228

For sixteen years the Delaware Theatre Company has engaged students in the process of making live theatre through the act of writing a play for its Young Playwrights Festival (YPF).

This year's Festival theme came from DTC's fall production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie: "Oh, be careful - if you breathe, it breaks." Students were asked to consider that there are many things in life, besides physical objects, that can be broken. They were asked to write a play in which something breaks surprisingly easily and characters either work to put the pieces together again or deal with the new reality.

David Stradley, the Festival coordinator, visits classrooms throughout the Fall to introduce students to the playwriting process. Says Stradley, "It's Playwriting 101 in 45-minutes. But more importantly, it's about getting the students excited about writing their plays."

This year's Festival submissions saw record numbers - 561 first drafts written by 713 students from 23 schools in Delaware. During the first round, plays are critiqued by the YPF Literary Committee and returned to the students for a period of revision. Second round plays are re-submitted and given a numerical score. In this year's final round, fifteen plays were chosen and playwrights were interviewed by members of the Literary Committee and the DTC Education Department as part of the selection process.

YPF winners were announced in February - three high school and three middle school plays are given the highest honor of a public presentation at Delaware Theatre Company. In addition, nine plays are honored as semi-finalists and six as honorable mentions. This year's winners are as follows:

Middle School Division Finalists
Creaking Hinges by Lauren Bleakney of Talley Middle School The Trouble with Clothes by Callie Eros of Hanby Middle School What's Left by Ana Hillman of Talley Middle School

Middle School Division Semi-Finalists
Forest Fire by Jenny Lee of Talley Middle School Writing A Play by Tom Meyer of Hanby Middle School Only The Beginning by Mariah Parker of Talley Middle School The King's Dilemma by Kyle Rawding of Caravel Academy

Middle School Division Honorable Mention
If I Had Another Chance by Brooklynn Hitchens of Talley Middle School In The Face of Greatness by Read T. Scott of Cab Calloway School of the Arts

High School Division Finalists
A Pinch of Pavlov by Casey Eros of Concord High School A Difference of Shades by Christina Matarese of St. Elizabeth High School Splintered by Caroline Ryon of Sanford School

High School Division Semi-Finalists
Broken Reality by James Allen of Glasgow High School Rah! Rah! You're Under Arrest! by Michelle Bosick of St. Elizabeth High School The Bluebird's Song by Anna Muto of Padua Academy One Step Back by J.D. Rodgers of Cab Calloway School of the Arts Miss Teen Clichi by Amanda Skoranski of Glasgow High School

High School Division Honorable Mentions
A Shot in the Dark by Melissa Day of Newark High School A Second Chance by Abbey Detwiler of Cab Calloway School of the Arts The Epic of Kubla Colin by Bridget McGinnis of St. Elizabeth High School Brightly Colored Scarves by Nikki Padilla of Newark High School

Middle school finalists are given a staged reading by local actors. It is the high school finalists who are engaged in the full-blown theatrical process - playwrights meet with a full production team of directors, set designers, lighting and sound designers. Auditions are held, sets are constructed, and countless theatre professionals are engaged to bring these students' works to life. "We check in with the playwright at every step of the way to make sure that their vision is being accomplished," says Stradley. "We never want it to become the play as we see it - it is the students' work, their visions, their stories."

Middle School Division readings will take place on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at 7:30pm and High School Division performances will be held on Thursday, April 28, 2005 at 7:30pm. All performances are held at Delaware Theatre Company.

Tickets for all YPF performances are free, but reservations are requested. To reserve your seat, please contact the Delaware Theatre Company Box Office at (302) 594-1100.

For more information on the Delaware Young Playwrights Festival or other Education programs at DTC, please or visit our website at www.delawaretheatre.org.

The Delaware Young Playwrights Festival is funded in part by AstraZeneca and ING. Delaware Theatre Company's season is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase. This program is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware. The Delaware Division of the Arts provides technical and financial assistance to artists and arts programs and serves as a clearinghouse for information on the arts.

Delaware Theatre Company, 200 Water Street, Wilmington, is Delaware's premiere professional theatre company, located on Wilmington's exciting new Riverfront within walking distance from the Amtrak station. Delaware Theatre Company is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, Theatre Communications Group, Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, and the Arts Consortium of Delaware.

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