Rehearsals have begun at Mill Mountain Theatre for their third annual ‘Write Stuff!’ Young Playwright Festival. In January, the professional theatre announced the playwriting contest’s theme: “Discovering Truth About Yourselves and Others”. Three winning plays have been selected by a panel of Mill Mountain Theatre professional artists and will be performed by local youth as part of a festival of staged-readings directed by MMT staff on April 12th, 2019 on the Waldron Stage.
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One Date by Caroline Moledor explores the miscommunication of young love. When Colleen and Josh run into each other unexpectedly their romantic past is brought to the forefront. Caroline Moledor is an eighth-grade Conservatory student who is thrilled to be participating as a playwright for her third year of Write Stuff! Her most recent MMT credit was the role of Yonah Woods in A Simple Gift. Other favorite credits include Shrek the Musical (Pig 2), The Tempest (Miranda), A Christmas Story (Helen Weathers), and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Katie/Mrs. Van Tassle).
Monologue by Zachary Conklin gives voice to the inner monologue of a young man’s journey to audition for a play. He meets many crazy and unique characters along the way, all while trying to make it to the theatre on time. Zachary Conklin is a 16-year-old homeschooler and thespian who is excited to see his very first 10-minute play be put on stage. Zachary has been involved in theatre all over the Roanoke area for the past 2 years, both on stage, and on screen.
Lucas by Tura Furrow-Scott, Addison Carmen, and Jonas Tyree shares the story of Lucas, a transgender teen trying to find his place in the world. Join him as he navigates friendships, love, and relationships with adults as he grows into his true self. Tura Furrow-Scott is a 15-year-old freshman at Staunton River High School in Moneta, VA. When not on stage, Tura spends her time animating, drawing, writing, and stressing over school (primarily that last one). Addison Carmen is a fifth grader at Bedford Elementary School. Like many other 11-year-olds, Addison enjoys sleeping. Unlike many other 11-year-olds, Addison spends her afternoons at an after-school theatre program learning how to do cool theatre stuff. JonasTyree is an 11-year-old fifth grader at New London Academy in Forest, Virginia. His favorite activity is cooking, and he also enjoys building props for the theatre and playing games. This is the first play he has ever written.
Write Stuff! serves to connect Mill Mountain Theatre’s rapidly expanding education programming with its historical and ongoing commitment to new play development. “Write Stuff is an incredible experience for young artists to work on a new play process. It isn't often that young people get to be involved in brand new plays: learning how scripts change, how characters are developed, and how to work with a playwright in the room,” says Travis Kendrick, Mill Mountain Theatre’s Director of Education.
“Last year, Mill Mountain Theatre gave this experience to three young playwrights, who got to see their words come to life onstage as other young actors embodied the characters that they had created. The new plays performed to a full house, and each playwright participated in a talk-back discussion with the audience afterward," he added.
Write Stuff! performs for one-night-only on Friday, April 12th, 2019 at 7:30pm on MMT’s Waldron Stage. Tickets are only available at the door and are pay-what-you-can. Visit millmountain.org/write-stuff-2019 to learn more.
