Winners of Barter Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival are pictured with their teachers and event sponsors from Bank of America, Crutchfield and the Prather Foundation.
ABINGDON, Va. - Barter Theatre announced the winners of the 7th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, Monday, Nov. 10, 2008. Winners included many area students, with more than 230 high school students from the region participating in the festival this year.
2008 was a year of many firsts for the Young Playwrights Festival. With the help of the Prather Foundation, West Virginia high school students were added to the program, and the festival had a record-breaking 157 plays submitted. The Festival had its first repeat winners, as well as playwrights who garnered both first and second place for their submissions.
First place in the Festival went to The Patriot Actor by Cody Huff and Stephen Richardson of Abingdon High School.
Second place was awarded to Man vs. Universe by Huff, Richardson and Michael McGarry, all seniors at Abingdon High and winners of the 2007 Young Playwrights Festival.
Red as Fire by Leandra Gezette Rohr, a freshman from Bristol Tennessee High School, won third place.
Due to a tie, six Honorable Mentions were awarded to the following plays: A Cup of Joe by Grace Anderson of Tennessee High; The Book of (Bank) Job by Grant Shrader, Drew Murray and Aaron Pe?a of Graham High in Bluefield, Va.; The Old Guitarist by Katherine Ward of Williamson High in Williamson, W.Va.; and to these plays by Abingdon High School students, The Fatality of Reason by Forrest Swan III and Hannah Foster, How Not to Spend a Thursday Night by Rachel Coale, and Man's True Identity by Meaghan McGarry.
Teachers and students received their trophies and plaques after Barter professionals staged readings of the plays. Winners of the top three plays also received cash awards. A reception in honor of the students and their teachers took place immediately following the awards presentation.
The Young Playwrights Festival is open to high school students in Southwest Virginia, Northeast Tennessee and southeast West Virginia every fall. To participate in the program, students in groups of no more than three write and submit plays to Barter Theatre through their schools.
This year students participated from Tennessee High, Marion Senior High, Graham High, Chilhowie High, Northwood High and Abingdon High, as well as Williamson High, the first school from West Virginia to enter students in the Festival.
The annual event is part of Barter Theatre's Educational Outreach Program which includes not only the Young Playwrights Festival, but also the Barter Players' season and tour, and new and emerging e-learning opportunities for the region's youth.
For more information about Barter Theatre's educational programming, call Tere Land at (276) 619-3347 or or e-mail education@bartertheatre.com.
For season group sales, call Amber Bird at (276) 619-5406 or e-mail groupsalesrep@bartertheatre.com.
