|
The 22nd Annual Chicago Young Playwrights Festival
Produced by Pegasus Players
“Dream Nation “
by Sarah Winters
Directed by Alex Levy
“A Rose in the Royal Court”
by Molly McAndrew
Directed by Tiffany Trent
“Coffee Girl”
by Claire Rychlewski
Directed by Jonathan Wilson
“Blooming Flowers in Weeds”
by Laura Fernandez
Directed by Ilesa Duncan
At Truman College’s O’Rourke Center
1145 W. Wilson
Chicago, IL
Call 773-878-9761, tickets $12
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm
Sundays at 3 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 10 minutes with intermission
Through January 27, 2008
22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival’s writers long on imagination
Pegasus Players’ 22nd Annual Young Playwrights Festival, now not only a Chicago tradition but the oldest teen playwright festival in the country, is alive and well at Truman College. The four one-acts, all written by women, demonstrated a maturity seldom witnessed in fledging playwrights. These playwrights left the basic teen life themes seen in the Festival over the last few years. It is refreshing to see each playwright stretch their creativity. They succeeded in creating engaging stories ranging from a prom night to a glimpse into Shakespeare’s life to a slave girl’s missing shoes to a dinner in the rural South.
“Day Dream Nation” by Sarah Winters (Northside College Prep High School) directed by Alex Levy is a look into teens on prom night and those shooting an indi film. To live in the small town or move to the uncertainty of the large city is explored. Politics, use of drugs and the fear of change are dramatically presented here.
“A Rose in the Royal Court” by Molly McAndrew (Northside College Prep High School) directed by Tiffany Trent has Rosalind (the terrific Victoria Caciopoli) meeting a young charming English playwright (Shakespeare) played by the talented Santosha Chantal. Sparks fly in this Shakespearian style piece that contains rich lovable characters written deftly in 17th Century language by a playwright steeped in romantic tradition. This play has possibilities.
“Coffee Girl” by Claire Rychlewski (Van Steuben High School) directed by Aaron Carter is a look back to the slave days on a Southern plantation in the 19th Century. Playwright Rychlewski has strong believable characters led by Aaya McDaniel as the little slave girl who lost her shoes to her white mistress. The story deals with the terror of slavery and the personal degradation of abuse. This one act was powerful and Taylar was terrific as Tempe.
“Blooming Flowers in Weeds” by Laura Fernandez (Lane Tech High School) directed by Ilesa Duncan deals with rural white living in Deep South set in a diner. This mature work has hunts of Inge, Shepard and Williams as we meet Candy (Elisa Stoughton) the kind hearted waitress who befriends a young teen, Julia (another terrific performance by Victoria Caciopoli) a domestic abuse victim. This shocking story gradually grabs us and shakes us.
The effects of the mentorship by Lisa Dillman, Aaron Carter, Tanya Saracho A. and Marisa Wegtzyn that taught writing skills to hundreds of teens sure proved to raise the level of sophistication of the winning plays. The YPF program is a wonderful treasure that needs to continue to expand so it can help find the next great playwrights.
Come see our creative youth’s work come alive on stage. Kudos to Pegasus Players for their dedication to developing young writers.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2008
|
