We're looking for READERS and ACTORS for the upcoming young playwrights festivals at Playwrights Theatre of NJ. Please contact us if you are interested via the following online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2014FestivalParticipation
Any questions? Send an email to njypf@ptnj.org.
Thanks!
Showing posts with label theatre for youth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theatre for youth. Show all posts
Monday, November 25, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Results of the 2013 NJ Young Playwrights Festival
We are proud to present to you the winning plays/playwrights of the 2013 New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival! The following plays will be presented during the Festival in May.
High School Division
- You Definitely Got All That from Your Mother by Emma Iacometta, 11th grade, Bergen County Academies
- Mirror by Kelsey Garrett, 11th grade, Middletown High School South
- Blues-Berries by Philip Peker, 11th grade, Livingston Senior High School
- Good News! By Philip Anastassiou, 11th grade, Bergen County Academies
Junior High School Division
- We’re Sisters by Christine Vapsva, 9th grade, Union County Academy for Performing Arts, Scotch Plains
- Untitled by Emma Ohlig, 9th grade, Union County Academy for Performing Arts, Scotch Plains
- An Obstacle Worth Facing by Lindsay Gerrato, 8th grade, Columbia Middle School, Berkeley Heights
Elementary Division
- A Tale of Two Kitties by Matthew Sidorovich, 5th grade, Lafayette Elementary School, Chatham
- Bully Days by Zachary Vincent, 4th grade, St. Vincent Martyr School, Madison
- It All Happened in 24 Hours by Anna Gregory, 4th grade, Lafayette Elementary School, Chatham
Congratulations to all of the playwrights who submitted their work to the Festival this year. We received a large number of good plays and had a great time reading them, but a difficult time selecting those to be performed.
We encourage everyone to attend the Festival readings on May 20 (Junior HS and Elementary plays) and May 21 (High School plays) in the University Center Little Theatre on the campus of Kean University in Union, NJ. Performances will begin promptly at 7:00 pm. While the events are free, reservations are highly suggested, due to limited space available. Please contact the Education Office at Playwrights Theatre to make your reservation today - 973-514-1787, ext. 21 or njypf@ptnj.org.
Stay tuned for updates about the Festival throughout the next four weeks!
Monday, May 21, 2012
First day of rehearsal for the 2012 NJ Young Playwrights Festival
Yesterday was an exciting and very busy day of first rehearsals for the New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival. We began with a read through of the plays from the Junior HS and Elementary divisions and spent the afternoon with the high school plays. It is always fun to meet the playwrights and connect faces and personalities with plays. We also enjoy having the chance to talk with the playwrights about their plays - the inspirations behind them, the subtexts, etc.
We're back at it again this afternoon. First, we will continue blocking the high school plays and then transition into a very loose tech for the Junior HS and Elementary plays ahead of the readings at 7:00 pm tonight!
We have received a number of requests for reservations for tonight. Still a good amount of seats, so please do join us! 7:00 pm at the University Center Little Theatre at Kean University.
Here are just a few pictures from the high school rehearsal. Additional pictures can be found on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/njypf. We have a few from the earlier read through as well, but don't have them downloaded yet. Should do so soon. In the meantime, enjoy!
We're back at it again this afternoon. First, we will continue blocking the high school plays and then transition into a very loose tech for the Junior HS and Elementary plays ahead of the readings at 7:00 pm tonight!
We have received a number of requests for reservations for tonight. Still a good amount of seats, so please do join us! 7:00 pm at the University Center Little Theatre at Kean University.
Here are just a few pictures from the high school rehearsal. Additional pictures can be found on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/njypf. We have a few from the earlier read through as well, but don't have them downloaded yet. Should do so soon. In the meantime, enjoy!
Friday, May 18, 2012
5 Questions with Sam Gelman
Our final playwright is a familiar face...
Last year, we presented Sam's play, For the Sake of America: A Story of Patriotism at the New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival. This year, Sam's play is Monster. It features Charlie, a business journalist whose interview with Howard Morgan, a former CFO now serving time for fraud, challenges Charlie's perceptions of ethics and doing what is right.
1. What inspired you to write Monster?
Last year, while I was working on building the set for my school's musical Guys & Dolls, I fell off an 8-foot platform and broke my wrist. I remember sitting in the hand doctor's office, waiting to be called in, and reading a magazine. The magazine had an interview with Bernie Maddoff. It started off typically-he talked about being poor, antisemitism he faced, how he became who he was-and I thought the whole thing would end with a plea for understanding. But it didn't. Maddoff told the interviewer he knew what he did was wrong, and he didn't want pity, just understanding. That fascinated me. So I came up with a backstory for the interviewer and created a fictionalized version of Maddoff, and started writing.
2. You will be attending Princeton next year. Are you planning on majoring in theatre or writing?
Unfortunately, Princeton does not have a theater major. However, I intend on minoring in theater, probably in playwriting, and getting involved in as much student produced theater as possible, which I am happy to say has a really large presence on campus.
3. Which do you enjoy most: writing, acting or directing?
Each has a completely different feel, and I love all 3 for various reasons. As of now, my love is between playwriting and acting. Both have more immediate forms of expression than directing, and both give me little thrills from portraying what I see and telling the audience the truth.
4. Do you prefer writing one-acts or full-length plays?
I don't really prefer writing any length of play-I try to write the play as long as it needs to be. I will say that writing full-length plays is more of a challenge, and time consuming, but it is a lot of fun. In some ways, I like full-length plays more, as I get to spend more time with the characters, and see how much they change.
5. If you could be any super hero, who would you be and why?
Oh, that's easy. Superman. He's got it all-invincibility, flight, x-ray vision, strength, plus the writing gig for the newspaper. I feel like that would be a lot of fun.
Monster will be presented with the three other winners of the High School Division of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Junior HS and Elementary plays will be presented on Monday, May 21. Both performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre, Kean University. Tickets are free, but reservations are highly suggested (njypf@ptnj.org)
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| Sam Gelman The Pingry School, Martinsville |
1. What inspired you to write Monster?
Last year, while I was working on building the set for my school's musical Guys & Dolls, I fell off an 8-foot platform and broke my wrist. I remember sitting in the hand doctor's office, waiting to be called in, and reading a magazine. The magazine had an interview with Bernie Maddoff. It started off typically-he talked about being poor, antisemitism he faced, how he became who he was-and I thought the whole thing would end with a plea for understanding. But it didn't. Maddoff told the interviewer he knew what he did was wrong, and he didn't want pity, just understanding. That fascinated me. So I came up with a backstory for the interviewer and created a fictionalized version of Maddoff, and started writing.
2. You will be attending Princeton next year. Are you planning on majoring in theatre or writing?
Unfortunately, Princeton does not have a theater major. However, I intend on minoring in theater, probably in playwriting, and getting involved in as much student produced theater as possible, which I am happy to say has a really large presence on campus.
3. Which do you enjoy most: writing, acting or directing?
Each has a completely different feel, and I love all 3 for various reasons. As of now, my love is between playwriting and acting. Both have more immediate forms of expression than directing, and both give me little thrills from portraying what I see and telling the audience the truth.
4. Do you prefer writing one-acts or full-length plays?
I don't really prefer writing any length of play-I try to write the play as long as it needs to be. I will say that writing full-length plays is more of a challenge, and time consuming, but it is a lot of fun. In some ways, I like full-length plays more, as I get to spend more time with the characters, and see how much they change.
5. If you could be any super hero, who would you be and why?
Oh, that's easy. Superman. He's got it all-invincibility, flight, x-ray vision, strength, plus the writing gig for the newspaper. I feel like that would be a lot of fun.
Monster will be presented with the three other winners of the High School Division of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Junior HS and Elementary plays will be presented on Monday, May 21. Both performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre, Kean University. Tickets are free, but reservations are highly suggested (njypf@ptnj.org)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
5 Questions with Alina Sodano
Our third high school playwright is...
Alina's play - Disneyland - takes place in the Disney Outlet Store in Paramus, an enchanting place that brings together two souls in need of a little magic.
1. What inspired you to write Disneyland?
I took a trip to the Disney store to buy my friend a present and I overheard two people having a job interview. The interviewer asked the interviewee who their favorite Disney character was, and the young man hesitantly responded, “Simba.” I was shocked to hear that question being asked at an interview and I thought his hesitant response was quite funny. This interview inspired me to write a Disney themed play and parts of the interview are found as dialogue in Disneyland!
2. You mentioned in your bio you enjoy taking science courses and playwriting. Do you think this makes you both left and right brained?
I think so! I like thinking both creatively and analytically.
3. Have you been to Disneyland or Disney World? If both, do you prefer one over the other? If only one, do you plan to visit the other?
I have been to Disney World in Florida before but I would love to visit Disneyland in California as well. From what I’ve heard, each theme park has a slightly different feel to it, so it would be interesting to explore both places.
4. What is your favorite book and why?
My favorite book is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I read it as a young girl and the book's message continues to resonate with me.
5. If you could tour with any band or singer, who would that be?
I would choose to go on tour with my new favorite band called Fun.
Disneyland will be presented with the three other winners of the High School Division of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Junior HS and Elementary plays will be presented on Monday, May 21. Both performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre, Kean University. Tickets are free, but reservations are highly suggested (njypf@ptnj.org)
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| Alina Sodano Bergen County Academies, Hackensack |
1. What inspired you to write Disneyland?
I took a trip to the Disney store to buy my friend a present and I overheard two people having a job interview. The interviewer asked the interviewee who their favorite Disney character was, and the young man hesitantly responded, “Simba.” I was shocked to hear that question being asked at an interview and I thought his hesitant response was quite funny. This interview inspired me to write a Disney themed play and parts of the interview are found as dialogue in Disneyland!
2. You mentioned in your bio you enjoy taking science courses and playwriting. Do you think this makes you both left and right brained?
I think so! I like thinking both creatively and analytically.
3. Have you been to Disneyland or Disney World? If both, do you prefer one over the other? If only one, do you plan to visit the other?
I have been to Disney World in Florida before but I would love to visit Disneyland in California as well. From what I’ve heard, each theme park has a slightly different feel to it, so it would be interesting to explore both places.
4. What is your favorite book and why?
My favorite book is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I read it as a young girl and the book's message continues to resonate with me.
5. If you could tour with any band or singer, who would that be?
I would choose to go on tour with my new favorite band called Fun.
Disneyland will be presented with the three other winners of the High School Division of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Junior HS and Elementary plays will be presented on Monday, May 21. Both performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre, Kean University. Tickets are free, but reservations are highly suggested (njypf@ptnj.org)
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
5 Questions with Isabelle Ingato
Meet our next playwright...
Isabelle's play - Must-Read - is about three brothers who are in the run, but have stopped on a bridge in upstate New York. The oldest brother, George, refuses to go any further until he can finish a book that he is almost done reading. However, the police, time, and nature are quickly catching up to them.
1. What inspired you to write Must-Read?
Originally, I was writing another as-yet-unfinished play about the meeting of a famous but reclusive novelist and the actress/playwright who portrays the novelist’s younger self in a new production. I was trying to come up with ideas for the play that that character would be writing; I wanted to include a scene of this play within the other play. In between typing, my eye somehow turned to a title on my bookshelf that read 501 Must-Reads, and I began to think about the implications of the word “must” and its strange, almost frighteningly commanding presence, even when attached to what most consider a leisure activity. Likely influenced by the Great Depression era we were studying in my AP US History course, I imagined two displaced workers sitting just before train tracks – one was considering his options and the other was determined to read the last few pages of a book. I wanted loneliness to play a big part in it, so I wondered how the book could gradually become more important to George than Ryan’s presence throughout the play. The two men developed into three young brothers in New York because of the impact reading had on my young adulthood.
2. Are any of your characters based on you?
None of my characters are based on me. I think I incorporated some of my own questions and fears into the characters, but overall their traits and especially their reactions don’t match up with my own personality. George, in his incredible love of reading, was partially influenced by my mom’s own passion for books and film.
3. You will be going to the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference playwriting workshop at the University of the South this summer. What do you hope to gain from the experience?
This summer I will be attending both the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference for playwriting and the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio for fiction (back to back for four weeks). I hope to gain more knowledge about proper formatting and use of stage directions within a play. Also, I would like to learn more about writing comedies (rather than dramas, which most of my plays currently are). I am excited to meet and hear readings from authors like the amazing Kevin Wilson, who wrote Tunneling to the Center of the Earth and The Family Fang. Last summer, I attended the Juniper Institute for Young Writers for fiction, where I made many creative and inspiring friends; I hope I will be able to make more connections with fellow young writers this summer.
4. In your bio you mention that you are Secretary of the Raider Compost Initiative where you learned to use a drill. Do you help around the house with home improvement projects?
I included that note (“where she learned to use a drill”) in order to hopefully balance out the fact that bios are usually so long and tedious. I am very involved in a number of community service activities, and I became a founding member and Secretary of the Raider Compost Initiative’s Compost Management Committee this year. I really love this club because, although helping to preserve the environment is its central goal, an equally significant part of it is students’ self-organization, management, and club promotion, rather than a teacher-advisor based system of organization governance. It may have been natural for me to sign up for the Information Committee of this initiative (there are five central student committees within it), but I decided to sign up for the most physically demanding committee (whose tasks include compost set-up and maintenance) in order to take a leap and learn new skills, like using a drill and balancing the organic elements in the compost pile.
5. What movie could you watch over and over again?
In all honesty, although it is not necessarily my favorite film, the movie that I watch constantly is Roman Holiday, which stars Audrey Hepburn.
Must-Read will be presented with the three other winners of the High School Division of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Junior HS and Elementary plays will be presented on Monday, May 21. Both performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre, Kean University. Tickets are free, but reservations are highly suggested (njypf@ptnj.org)
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| Isabelle Ingato Toms River High School East, Toms River |
1. What inspired you to write Must-Read?
Originally, I was writing another as-yet-unfinished play about the meeting of a famous but reclusive novelist and the actress/playwright who portrays the novelist’s younger self in a new production. I was trying to come up with ideas for the play that that character would be writing; I wanted to include a scene of this play within the other play. In between typing, my eye somehow turned to a title on my bookshelf that read 501 Must-Reads, and I began to think about the implications of the word “must” and its strange, almost frighteningly commanding presence, even when attached to what most consider a leisure activity. Likely influenced by the Great Depression era we were studying in my AP US History course, I imagined two displaced workers sitting just before train tracks – one was considering his options and the other was determined to read the last few pages of a book. I wanted loneliness to play a big part in it, so I wondered how the book could gradually become more important to George than Ryan’s presence throughout the play. The two men developed into three young brothers in New York because of the impact reading had on my young adulthood.
2. Are any of your characters based on you?
None of my characters are based on me. I think I incorporated some of my own questions and fears into the characters, but overall their traits and especially their reactions don’t match up with my own personality. George, in his incredible love of reading, was partially influenced by my mom’s own passion for books and film.
3. You will be going to the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference playwriting workshop at the University of the South this summer. What do you hope to gain from the experience?
This summer I will be attending both the Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference for playwriting and the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio for fiction (back to back for four weeks). I hope to gain more knowledge about proper formatting and use of stage directions within a play. Also, I would like to learn more about writing comedies (rather than dramas, which most of my plays currently are). I am excited to meet and hear readings from authors like the amazing Kevin Wilson, who wrote Tunneling to the Center of the Earth and The Family Fang. Last summer, I attended the Juniper Institute for Young Writers for fiction, where I made many creative and inspiring friends; I hope I will be able to make more connections with fellow young writers this summer.
4. In your bio you mention that you are Secretary of the Raider Compost Initiative where you learned to use a drill. Do you help around the house with home improvement projects?
I included that note (“where she learned to use a drill”) in order to hopefully balance out the fact that bios are usually so long and tedious. I am very involved in a number of community service activities, and I became a founding member and Secretary of the Raider Compost Initiative’s Compost Management Committee this year. I really love this club because, although helping to preserve the environment is its central goal, an equally significant part of it is students’ self-organization, management, and club promotion, rather than a teacher-advisor based system of organization governance. It may have been natural for me to sign up for the Information Committee of this initiative (there are five central student committees within it), but I decided to sign up for the most physically demanding committee (whose tasks include compost set-up and maintenance) in order to take a leap and learn new skills, like using a drill and balancing the organic elements in the compost pile.
5. What movie could you watch over and over again?
In all honesty, although it is not necessarily my favorite film, the movie that I watch constantly is Roman Holiday, which stars Audrey Hepburn.
Must-Read will be presented with the three other winners of the High School Division of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Junior HS and Elementary plays will be presented on Monday, May 21. Both performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre, Kean University. Tickets are free, but reservations are highly suggested (njypf@ptnj.org)
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
5 Questions with Emma Hathaway
We're less than a week away from the 29th annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival, so we thought we'd start celebrating now with a few questions with each of the high school playwrights about their work.
We start with....
Emma's play - The Mystery Madame of 110 and Broadway - is about Emily, a 20-something New Yorker who is at the Chipotle on 110 & Broadway very early in the morning wearing a wedding dress. She is preparing for her wedding, which will take place later that day. She has spent years making the arrangements for this moment save for one thing - the groom!
1. What inspired you to write The Mystery Madame of 110 and Broadway?
When I was thinking of ideas for a play, I remembered someone telling me that they had once heard of a person who planned their entire wedding day even before they had found a husband. I began to play with this idea, and combined with my love for Chipotle and eccentric personalities and the fact that I find Zumba to be hilarious, The Mystery Madame began to take shape.
2. In addition to writing, you also play violin, act, sing and dance. Are you planning a career in the arts?
While I'm not certain yet whether or not I want to pursue the arts professionally, I'm confident that they'll always be a part of my life in some way. I'm also very interested in history and literature and humanities research along those lines, but no matter what I choose in the end (choosing careers is scary!), I know I will always be singing, playing violin, and writing because that's when I'm happiest and where my heart lies.
3. Have you written other pieces other than this play? If so, what?
I wrote a play in 7th and 8th grade - both quirky comedies that I'm not sure made any real sense to anyone but myself. But after I came to high school, I didn't make as much time to write, and this play was the first full piece that I finished since freshmen year, which was really fun for me.
4. What did you enjoy most about writing this play?
My favorite part about writing this play was developing John and Emily's characters and the relationship between the two of them through their conversations. Once I had a solid grasp of each of their characters and how they interacted with each other, it was so much fun to see where their dialogue took me.
5. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
My favorite ice cream flavor is Coconut Dream. They sell it at an ice cream shop in my town - chocolate, coconut, and almonds in vanilla ice cream. So. Good.
The Mystery Madame of 110 and Broadway will be presented with the three other winners of the High School Division of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Junior HS and Elementary plays will be presented on Monday, May 21. Both performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre, Kean University. Tickets are free, but reservations are highly suggested (njypf@ptnj.org)
We start with....
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| Emma Hathaway Bergen County Academies, Hackensack |
1. What inspired you to write The Mystery Madame of 110 and Broadway?
When I was thinking of ideas for a play, I remembered someone telling me that they had once heard of a person who planned their entire wedding day even before they had found a husband. I began to play with this idea, and combined with my love for Chipotle and eccentric personalities and the fact that I find Zumba to be hilarious, The Mystery Madame began to take shape.
2. In addition to writing, you also play violin, act, sing and dance. Are you planning a career in the arts?
While I'm not certain yet whether or not I want to pursue the arts professionally, I'm confident that they'll always be a part of my life in some way. I'm also very interested in history and literature and humanities research along those lines, but no matter what I choose in the end (choosing careers is scary!), I know I will always be singing, playing violin, and writing because that's when I'm happiest and where my heart lies.
3. Have you written other pieces other than this play? If so, what?
I wrote a play in 7th and 8th grade - both quirky comedies that I'm not sure made any real sense to anyone but myself. But after I came to high school, I didn't make as much time to write, and this play was the first full piece that I finished since freshmen year, which was really fun for me.
4. What did you enjoy most about writing this play?
My favorite part about writing this play was developing John and Emily's characters and the relationship between the two of them through their conversations. Once I had a solid grasp of each of their characters and how they interacted with each other, it was so much fun to see where their dialogue took me.
5. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
My favorite ice cream flavor is Coconut Dream. They sell it at an ice cream shop in my town - chocolate, coconut, and almonds in vanilla ice cream. So. Good.
The Mystery Madame of 110 and Broadway will be presented with the three other winners of the High School Division of the NJ Young Playwrights Festival on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Junior HS and Elementary plays will be presented on Monday, May 21. Both performances will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre, Kean University. Tickets are free, but reservations are highly suggested (njypf@ptnj.org)
Friday, April 27, 2012
NJ Young Playwrights to speak at NYU
Tomorrow (Saturday, April 28), I will be presenting a session about the New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival at the NYU Forum on Theatre for Young Audiences.
I will be joined by three former young playwrights: Summer Dawn Hortillosa (2006), Constantine Lignos (2006), and Justine DeSilva (2010, 2011). We will be discussing their experiences in the Festival and the impact it has had on their work since. We will also consider the questions of how to share young playwrights' work with a wider audience and place of young playwrights' work within the field of theatre for young audiences (TYA).
On Sunday (April 29) at the NYU Forum, John Pietrowski, Artistic Director of Playwrights Theatre of NJ will be a panelist for a discussion about the current and future role of the writer in the theatre.
You can follow the conference through the NYU Forum's blog at http://nyutyaforum.blogspot.com/ and get more information via the website at http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/conference/tya or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/nyutyaforum.
I will also provide some updates here next week.
I will be joined by three former young playwrights: Summer Dawn Hortillosa (2006), Constantine Lignos (2006), and Justine DeSilva (2010, 2011). We will be discussing their experiences in the Festival and the impact it has had on their work since. We will also consider the questions of how to share young playwrights' work with a wider audience and place of young playwrights' work within the field of theatre for young audiences (TYA).
On Sunday (April 29) at the NYU Forum, John Pietrowski, Artistic Director of Playwrights Theatre of NJ will be a panelist for a discussion about the current and future role of the writer in the theatre.
You can follow the conference through the NYU Forum's blog at http://nyutyaforum.blogspot.com/ and get more information via the website at http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/conference/tya or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/nyutyaforum.
I will also provide some updates here next week.
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