For Immediate Release: March 28, 2006
Media Contact: Megan Wendell, for Philadelphia Young Playwrights, 215.242.6393

Philadelphia Young Playwrights is pleased to announce that its annual Spring Benefit will be held on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. at The Union League (140 South Broad StreetPhiladelphia). The event serves as a fundraiser for Young Playwrights’ programs throughout the yearand honors outstanding members of the arts and business communities. The evening will feature WestAfrican music by Jojolo, a silent auction, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are $100 for two or $60 for one and can be purchased by calling Young Playwrights at (215) 665-9226.

The 2005 Barrymore Award winner for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service,Philadelphia Young Playwrights is an intensive arts-education program that pairs a professional teachingartist with a classroom teacher. The two work together as an Artistic Team, guiding and supporting students in the process of writing a play, which concurrently fosters student learning, exploring, and succeeding. Building upon its primary belief that all students have something important and valuable tosay, Young Playwrights has guided thousands of students from the Greater Philadelphia area through theplaywriting process since its founding in 1984.

The theme of this year’s Benefit, Everybody is a Star, highlights the collaborative efforts and singular achievements of the diverse group of teachers, teaching artists, theater professionals, and students of theYoung Playwrights program. This year, Young Playwrights will honor Artistic Teams as well as esteemed members of the community who are valued supporters of the organization. Honorary Co-Chairs of the event are Joanne Harmelin, Vikki and Eric L. Mayberry, and Mark S. Schweiker.Receiving the Patron Award will be Helen Evelev, a philanthropist and activist in the Philadelphia community. She has volunteered with Woman Against Abuse, Community Legal Services and Women Strike for Peace and is a member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. In addition to being a former board member and consistent supporter of Young Playwrights through her private family foundation, Ms. Evelev is a supporter of the ACLU, Women’s Way, Planned Parenthood and The Clay Studio.

The Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Service in the Greater Philadelphia Community will be awarded to Karen B. Davis, President and CEO of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, the region’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating mutually beneficial relationships between business and the arts and cultural institutions located in southeastern Pennsylvania,southern New Jersey, and northern Delaware. Ms. Davis joined the Arts & Business Council during its first full year of operation in 1982 and was instrumental in the early development of the Council, which was honored with the first and only Governor’s Award for Leadership to the Arts in 1998. Honored in 2001 as one of the region’s “Women of Distinction” by the Philadelphia Business Journal, Ms. Davis is credited with development and implementation of 14 new Council programs and services for arts and cultural organizations during her tenure.

The Council’s Business on Board program has placed numerous board members with Young Playwrights including current board president Nancy Stuski, who was honored as Business on Board Volunteer of the Year in 2004.The President’s Award for Special Achievement will be awarded to Sara Garonzik, Producing Artistic Director of Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC), which has collaborated with Young Playwrights to present professional productions of student plays for thirteen years. Since 1982, Ms. Garonzik has directed and produced for PTC, which has introduced more than 100 world or regional premieres of major new American plays to Philadelphia. In 1991 she was named to the PTC Board of Directors. She also serves as a board member of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia and the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. She is listed in "Who's Who of American Women" and was named one of Business Philadelphia's "100 People to Watch." Ms. Garonzik has been a key partner with Young Playwrights in validating students’ voices through public presentations of their plays.

Two Artistic Teams will be presented with the Adele Magner Memorial Award, named for Young Playwrights’ founder, which recognizes the work of an outstanding Young Playwrights team: a student, a teacher, and a teaching artist for whom the program has made a significant difference in their lives. The criteria for this award reflect the three qualities which Ms. Magner admired most: collaboration, transformation and perseverance. Awards will be presented to the teams of teacher Carolyn Cohen, teaching artist Kate McGrath and student playwright Nathan Wainstein (Masterman High School, grade 10); and teacher Ilene Poses, teaching artist Sarah Gallagher and student playwright Michelle Admiral (Morrison School, grade 7). Ms. Cohen has been a member of the Young Playwrights program for five years, and Ms. McGrath for fifteen years. They have worked together as an Artistic Team for two years. Nathan Wainstein’s play Winning Streak garnered a second place standing in the Young Playwrights Annual Playwriting Festival. “Through Young Playwrights, I discovered more than just characters and a story,” says Nathan. “Today, my love of writing and theatre informs all aspects of my life. I found something that I l love. That, I believe, is the most important thing of all.”

Ms. Poses and Ms. Gallagher have also worked together as an Artistic Team for two years. Ms. Poses works with special education students challenged by learning difficulties. Her participation in Young Playwrights has twice been funded by the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership. Her student,Michelle Admiral, wrote Who’s Going to Change which earned a third place recognition in the Playwriting Festival. Ms. Poses says of her students’ experience with the Young Playwrights program, “My students saw themselves as playwrights and actors, not as special education students. Students told me how proud they were of themselves, and fellow students praised them, applauded them, and admired them.”

Generous support is provided by event sponsors Beneficial Savings Bank, Haverford Trust Company,The Independence Foundation, METRO Philadelphia, SBK Pictures, Inc, The Union League, and Verizon.

About Philadelphia Young Playwrights - Founded in 1984, and led today by executive director Glen Knapp, Philadelphia Young Playwrights tapsthe potential of youth and inspires learning through playwriting in up to 50 public and private K-12 schoolseach year. Since 1984, approximately 60 professional playwrights have led workshops, and nearly all of Philadelphia’s professional theatre companies have participated by performing, producing, or directing student works. Nearly 55,000 students have seen peers’ work produced in class or by professionals. Young Playwrights’ Literary Committee includes more than 60 educators, writers, parents, and former Young Playwrights students who read and critique each student script. Young Playwrights received the 2005 Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service and is the past recipient of a 1997 Barrymore Award for Theatre Education, a 2003 George Bartol Award for Excellence in Arts Education, and a 2004 Eastern University Award for Nonprofit Excellence. For more information, visit www.phillyyoungplaywrights.org or call 215-665-9226.

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