A TAKE THE STAGE

BY EMMA HUNT

As a part of its mission to connect with students in the Colorado community, DCPA Education initiated the Middle School & High School Playwriting Workshops in 2013. This season, 120 of these workshops were taught across 22 counties, serving over 2,600 students. This program is free to all educators and is offered both in-person and virtually, making the workshop accessible to all communities across Colorado.

Born from these workshops is the Middle School & High School Playwriting Competition. Students can submit a one-act play (high school) or 10-minute play (middle school) for professional review. Students don’t need to participate in a workshop to be eligible for the competition, but the workshops set them up for success.

This year, 179 submissions were received for the competition. A panel of artistic, literary, and theatre education professionals evaluated the submissions and selected ten high school finalists. Three winners in each age group were then determined.

The top three plays by each age group are included in the annual Playwriting Anthology and the three winning high school plays receive a public staged reading as part of the Colorado New Play Summit. Additionally, each winner receives a $250 prize and each of the playwrights’ teachers receives $250 toward the purchase of books or tools for their classrooms.

The three plays staged at the 2023 Colorado New Play Summit were A Curious Couple by Elliet Johnson, From the Beginning to the Edge by Hayden Ferrandino, and Players, Staged by Penelope Letter.

Prior to their staged readings, the young playwrights received guidance from the DCPA Education team to hone their craft with individual mentorship. Plus, they worked with directors to see their plays come to life. For many of these students, it’s a once-in-alifetime opportunity to witness and participate in the professional development of their work.

The Playwriting Competition is a vital resource for aspiring playwrights and the community. For these student playwrights, seeing their work performed onstage in front of an audience for the first time can be truly life changing.

•