CTM Young Playwrights Festival

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Marc Glazer

A reading during the 2023 Young Playwrights Festival from Children's Theater of Madison.

A reading during the 2023 Young Playwrights Festival from Children's Theater of Madison.

The Young Playwrights program by Children's Theater of Madison provides a workshop in creating theater and writing feedback for middle and high school students. This year’s theme was “Caring for Our World,” and short plays written by area youth in the program will be given a staged reading at the Young Playwrights Festival. You may just hear an early work by a future star: One of the 2023 plays, Masks by Sennett Middle School student Elena Meloy, was a national winner in the Playwrights for Change competition.

media release: 2023-24 PLAYWRIGHTS FOR CHANGE THEME: CARING FOR OUR WORLD

At times the world seems small and other times vast. How do you care for the earth? How does the earth care for you? Whether through science or connecting with wild things, seeing the earth as a scientific marvel or a mother, how does caring for our earth create change for the climate of your heart or the climate of our entire planet.

THE PROGRAM: CTM’s Young Playwrights program creates a public forum for youth voices through the medium of playwriting. Between September and December, high school & middle school students participate in a day-long workshop to kick off the program, write a 10-minute play based on a theme, and receive professional feedback on their scripts.

NATIONAL COMPETITION: CTM is a host site for Playwrights for Change, which is a national playwriting competition run by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE). The mission of Playwrights for Change is to produce meaningful conversations that will ripple across our nation to provoke change. The goal is to spark conversation and discussion throughout classrooms, schools, and communities. CTM will select one script to represent CTM at the national competition.

YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL: In addition to the script selected for the national competition, CTM will select one script per school group to be given a staged reading at the Young Playwrights Festival in late April/early May. All ten-minute plays will be directed and acted by professional theater artists and youth actors in roles appropriate to their ages. There will be a daytime festival for students from all participating schools (including a workshop series) as well as an evening festival that is open to the public. At the end of each performance, there will be a talkback with the playwrights.

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS & EDUCATORS

Monona Grove for the 21st Century (Alex Mentele & Bel Haynes)

Kromrey Middle School (Jean Holman, Molly Nelson, Maria Nygard, & Hannah Rose)

Waunakee Community Middle School (Andy Moll)

MMSD Advanced Learning Specialists (Kate Aughenbaugh, Jena Jackson, Amanda Jamae, Carlie Jarvey, Abbie Mannenbach, Michelle Nelson, Amy Sheridan, & Rachel Stohler)

Horizon High School (Enda Breadon & Bob Weinswig)

La Follette High School (Dave Pausch)