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2022 Neighborhood Play Contest Winners Announced

This year we received almost 300 submissions to the Neighborhood Play Contest 2022 from 16 schools. Here are the Winners, whose submissions will be performed at the 2023 Festival of the Kid. The Finalists/Honorable Mention submissions, which won't be performed, follow. Congratulations to all who submitted. In our hearts, every participant is a winner.

Your stories matter! 

WINNERS 

These winning pieces will be performed at Stage West in May.

Poems and Short Monologues (14 pieces, less than 2 minutes)

"The Clock Keeps Turning" by Josephine Ayala, North Side High School, Age 17
"Goldfish Eulogy #1" by Tanmay Yaramachu, Fort Worth Country Day, Age 17
"Goldfish Eulogy #2" by Fiona Morris, Fort Worth Country Day, Age 14
"Goldfish Eulogy #3" by Chance Odom, Fort Worth Country Day, Age 15
"Goldfish Eulogy #4” by Viktor Harrington, Fort Worth Country Day, Age 17
"If My Voice Could Travel" by Chloe Sehgal, Homeschool, Age 6
"In the Everything" by Clara Dean, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"It's Just a Zit" by Geneva Gutierrez, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"I Want to Believe" by Juneau Grundy, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Test" by Rhylan Looney, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"The Worst Idea" by Yeaan Bang, Texas School of Arts, Age 10
"Entitled Click" by Patiance Wiley, Booker T. Washington High School
"What is it Mother?" by Dulce Gaucin, North Side High School, Age 17
"Our Life," by Juan Jaquez, North Side High School, Age 16
"There Are No Small Parts" by Aria Mattera, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"The Accusation" by Soluna Viera, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts

Scenes and Long Monologues (7 pieces, 2-6 minutes)

“Untitled/Alex” by Kiera Jolley, Byron Nelson High School, Age 17
"Smells Like Capitalism" by Eowyn Lightbearer Age 17 & Corban Littrell Age 15, Homeschool
"The Dentist" by Jonah Hicks, Fort Worth Country Day
"Get Out Of My Room!" by Alaiya Mays, FWAFA
"Happy Birthday!" by Soluna Viera, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Upside Down" by Olivia Kersh, Fort Worth Country Day
"Friends" by Rylee Reisinger, Byron Nelson High School, Age 16

Short Plays (6 pieces, 8-10 minutes)

"The National Bird" by James Z Appleyard, Birdville High School, Age 16 
"Seeing Stars" by Ava McCain, IM Terrell Academy
"Suicide Squad" by Audrey Hunter, Booker T. Washington High School, Age 16
"Quarter to Ten" by Olivia Stanley, Booker T. Washington High School, Age 17
"Untitled" by Justin Chaney, Benbrook Middle School 
"Not Like You, But Like Me" by Genesis Juarez, Fossil Ridge High School

Finalists

Poems and Short Monologues (2 minutes or less)

"Ladders" by Audrey Stoner, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Is My Blackness Too Much For You?" by Sa'Niya Scott, North Side High School, Age 16
"The Ladybug and the Worm" by Oscar Tafoya, North Side High School, Age 15
"My Sober Mind" by Brooklyn Bertleson, North Side High School, Age 15
"Words" by Ayeh Kaouk, Birdville High School, 16 years old
"Soundproof Torture Chamber" by Hannah Kelly, Byron Nelson High School, Age 16
"What Do I Write About" by Liz Ikeda, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"I Love Printers" by Jose Rafa Carrion Melendez, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Hello? I'm taking over the world come arrest me" by Julian Morales, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Avery" by Presley Smitherman, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Moms" by Sofia Garciadiaz, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Untitled" by Chloe Hopkins, Byron Nelson High School, Age 16
"The Dog" by Ariana Zombar, Texas School of the Arts, Age 9

Scenes and Extensive Monologues (3-6 minutes)

"Sleep" by Olivia Kersh, Fort Worth Country Day
"Responsibility" by Madelynn Boyd, Byron Nelson High School, Age 16
"Just Jane Doe" by Bailey Long, Byron Nelson High School, Age 16
"ADHD Monologue" by Kiera Jolley, Byron Nelson High School, Age 17
"The Boy Stuck in a TV" by Icess Torres, North Side High School, Age 15
"Space Drama" by Clara Dean, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Take 2" by Liz Ikeda, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"The Karen that Stole Christmas" by Libby Caldwell, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Sandwich Eater" by Juneau Grundy, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"The Candy Bar" by Olivia Robinson, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"What If" by Reese Jeter, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"Science Project" by Addie Simicek, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts
"No Husbands on the Trolley" by Audrey Hunter, Booker T. Washington High School
"Apple & Orange" by Zoey Vann-Pulido, Texas School of the Arts, Age 11

Short Plays (10 minutes)

"Battlefield" by Kevin Chan, Benbrook Middle School
"The Forest of Willows" by McKenna Skipper, Benbrook Middle School
"Dreamscape" by Patiance Wiley, Booker T. Washington High School
"The Cruise" by Morelia Rodriguez, Amon Carter Riverside High School
"Too Late" by Evelyn Gilligan, Booker T Washington High School
"You Did What to What?" by Eboni Douglas, IM Terrell Academy
"Wild Thing" by Ellah Shafer, IM Terrell Academy
“The Witch of Nunti” by Victoria Salas, Crown of Life Lutheran School, Age 10

4 plays by Audrey Hunter, Booker T. Washington High School:

"Cheese Man and America Woman"
"Pay Attention"
"Fraidy"
"Snow Day...Forever"

13 plays by Oliva Stanley, Booker T. Washington High School:

"The Nihilist's BLT"
"Courtyard"
"Shampoo Secrets"
"Pandemonium at the Podium"
"Metaphorical Candles"
"In Which No Frogs Are Kissed"
"Decoration is Evil"
"GBF"
"Green Glass Brain"
"Echo Chamber"
"Magnum Opus"
"Three Strikes"
"Read Between the Lines"

posted: 
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

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New audience resources!

Do you like to have a full synopsis of the play prior to attendance? Do you wish you knew more about the historical background of a show? This season, we have created some new resources for our audiences. Find links on show pages, in the pale orange "Performance Schedule" block.

posted: 
Wednesday, October 26, 2022

New and Ongoing Outreach Programs

Stage West has exciting outreach programs slated to take place in the 2022/2023 Season. Below  is an update on some of our most impactful offerings.  

The Stayton Community Players:

Beginning in the fall of 2022, the theatre will formalize a partnership with the Stayton Retirement Community to start a performance-oriented class. Interested residents of the retirement complex will take part in the troupe, which will have small performances for other residents a few times a year. Stage West has long wanted to take part in a venture that facilitated access to performing arts to retirees as a positive creative and social outlet.

Led by Linda Leonard, an actor, director, and ever loyal supporter of Stage West, these classes will be a wonderful addition to the theatre’s current outreach offerings. Ms. Leonard has directed for the Dallas Library Project over the years, bringing theatre to many of our senior living communities. When that opportunity concluded, she began teaching acting at CC Young in Dallas, which included incorporating original works from the actors, Neil Simon, Carol Burnett sketches, radio plays, and a little Shakespeare, to name a few genres. She loves collaboration, and enlivening and encouraging artists of all ages to find or rediscover their inner artist.

Stage West will provide updates on the happenings of the Stayton Community Players through the outreach section of our website. 

 

Playwriting Workshops with Rob Bosquez for K-12 students: 

Due to generous grant funding, Resident Educational Playwright and Outreach Instructor Rob Bosquez will once again provide playwriting workshops in K-12 theatre classrooms during the school day. One of our exciting new school partnerships is with North Side High School, a school that submitted and went on to have winning entries in last year’s annual Neighborhood Play Contest. 

By providing in-school workshops to North Side High School, the Stage West staff hopes to continue to build strong relationships with Title I schools right here in our own Fort Worth community, while at the same time expanding to surrounding schools and districts. Mr. Bosquez has over 20 years of experience working with youth in all areas of performing arts, and feedback from both teachers and students has been positive. Over the years, many individuals have found his workshops to be a unique opportunity for creative expression of students’ accomplishments, life experiences, struggles, and ideas.  

Schools interested in participating in the workshops can contact: Education [at] stagewest.org 
 

Design Apprenticeship Program: 

Stage West’s 2023 Design Apprenticeship Program is a pre-professional training program for college students in the areas of Sound, Scenic, and Costume Design (a fourth section for Stage Management is available this year). Participants will meet with a mentor in their respective design area to create work for a professional portfolio, and have a hands-on learning experiences during the design process of season programming. 

The Design Apprenticeship Program launched in 2022 with the goal to give theatre-makers of tomorrow the vital skills needed to succeed in a professional theatre setting, thereby opening doors for college-aged students to have future job opportunities in their area of interest. For the foreseeable future, the program will center around diversity, equity, and inclusion - with a strong emphasis on recruiting women, students of color, the LGBTQ community, and other underrepresented groups. 

Stage West will seek three students in each area of study as they actively engage in the pre-production and rehearsal process of season programming. Upcoming participating shows are Handle with Care, The Play That Goes Wrong and Cruel Intentions: The 90's Musical. The students chosen for this program will have the opportunity to collaborate with Stage West on Festival of the Kid and the Summer Conservatory. 

College-age students interested in participating in the Design Apprenticeship Program can reach out to Tonya [at] stagewest.org 

 

posted: 
Tuesday, September 6, 2022