FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                

Stephen Sondheim Introduces 
America's Most Talented Teen Playwrights  

- America’s Top Young Playwrights Bound for NYC 
and Their Official Welcome To The American Theater -

(June 30, 2004) – Young Playwrights Inc. (YPI), 23-year-old brainchild of Stephen Sondheim and producer of the acclaimed Young Playwrights Festival, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2004 Young Playwrights Festival National Playwriting Competition. The winning plays were selected from the works of over 1,300 young playwrights across the country vying for honors. The finalists’ plays were read and evaluated by a committee of distinguished dramatists, including Lynn Ahrens, Keith Glover, and Alfred Uhry, that identified ten extraordinary writers for national recognition. And the winners are…

Joey M. Boren, 18*, Atlanta GA                            (*age as of 12/01/03 deadline)
Trains With Me, directed by Seret Scott

Hallie Cooper-Novack, 18*, New York NY
Turn On, directed by Pamela Berlin

Miriam Eichenbaum, 18*, Brooklyn NY
Suicide Club, directed by Tricia McDermott

Mercedes A. Estevez, 14*, New York NY
That’s What Friends Are For, directed by Meridee Stein

Rikki Gotthelf, 13*, Closter NJ
The Face
       Rikki will participate in Writers Conference 2005

Baron Haber, 17*, Tucson AZ
Ready Made Martyrs, directed by Kevin Newbury

Shane S. Kelly, 18*, Houston TX 
Day of the Mammal, directed by Richard Caliban

Ian Romain, 18*, Stilwell KS, 
The Matchstick Theory, directed by Valentina Fratti

David Watson, 15*, New York NY
The Wall
      David will participate in Writers Conference 2005

Deborah Yarchun, 17*, Austin TX
Human Adhesive, directed by Beth Milles

The winning writers will arrive in NYC on July 28^th for the Young Playwrights Writers Conference, 9 days of intensive playwright development that culminate in staged readings of the winning plays. This remarkable introduction to the professional theater is more than a prize. Past winners have found the all-expenses-paid immersion into the profession of playwriting to be inspirational and life-altering. In addition to meeting and working with their peers, the winners participate in daily workshops and seminars with artists such as Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Seussical, Once On This Island) and John Weidman (Contact, Assassins). Each night the young dramatists attend performances of Broadway and Off Broadway’s hottest shows, followed by after-play discussions with members of the creative team. Also on the schedule is the annual Chinese dinner at the home of YPI board chairman Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy, Last Night Of Ballyhoo, Parade), where the young playwrights get a good look at Mr. Uhry’s Oscar, Tony, and Pulitzer.

The staged readings of the winning plays will be presented on August 2^nd at the Blue Heron Arts Center, 123 East 24^th Street, NYC at 2 PM and August 3^rd and 4^th at the Abingdon Theater, 312 West 36^th Street, NYC at 2PM. From these readings—each one brought to life by professional directors, actors, dramaturgs, and stage managers—YPI will choose the plays to be produced in the next Young Playwrights Festival. Winners are also awarded a complimentary membership to the Dramatists Guild Inc., America’s professional association for playwrights, composers, and lyricists.  

With their winning plays and subsequent works produced at nearly every major theater institution in the nation, YPI playwrights have changed the landscape of the American theater. Past participants include Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count On Me, This Is Our Youth, Lobby Hero), Rebecca Gilman (Glory Of Living, Spinning Into Butter, Boy Gets Girl), Keith Glover (Thunder Knocking At The Door), and Jonathan Marc Sherman (Women And Wallace, Sophistry), among others.

For more information about the Writers Conference, to set up an interview with one of the winning playwrights, or to request a photo, call Julia Belozersky at (212) 594-5440, email [email protected], or visit youngplaywrights.org.

Send mail to [email protected] with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © Young Playwrights Inc.
Last modified:  December 19, 2008 05:29 PM