Seven Student Playwrights Selected: DTC's 2014-2015 Delaware Young Playwrights Festival

Post content courtesy of Delaware Theatre Company

Delaware Theatre Company is pleased to announce the six finalist plays in the 2014-2015 Delaware Young Playwrights Festival (DYPF):

• Cutting Strings by Sam Stewart, William Penn High School 
• Darkness: a Happy Sappy Extravaganza! by Dylan Lang, Cab Calloway School of the Arts 
• Ed and Coop by Hannah Biener and Charles Teague, Charter School of Wilmington 
• Letting Go by Mitali Patel, St. Elizabeth High School 
• Transcendence by Anastasia Hutnick, Padua Academy 
• The Wheel of Fortune by Anna Smith, Padua Academy 

The finalists will participate in a series of playwriting workshops with professional theatre artists from Delaware Theatre Company to further refine their writing and ready their works for a public showcase performance on February 24, 2015 at 7:30pm on the DTC stage.

This year's DYPF began with a kickoff workshop for Delaware high school teachers and students in September. From there, 41 plays written by 49 students representing eight different Delaware high schools were submitted for the first round. Each playwright received personal feedback about his or her play from a teaching artist of the Delaware Theatre Company staff. Student playwrights had the opportunity to revise their plays. Participating schools were then invited to resubmit their top five plays for the second round, also known as the "competition round." From these entries, the six finalist plays were selected for additional development under the guidance of Delaware Theatre Company's team of theatre artists and educators.

Now in its fourth year of the relaunch of this acclaimed program, DYPF invites high school students to write a play based on a theme inspired by one of Delaware Theatre Company's productions. This year's theme was inspired by a quotation from NORA, written by Ingmar Bergman, produced and presented by DTC in February 2015. The quotation used was, "If I ever hope to learn anything about myself and the things around me, I've got to stand completely on my own." Through the use of a standards-based writing rubric, students created and shaped their original plays with regard to characters, conflict, dialogue, theme, and other dramatic criteria.

Dewey Shares an Open Casting Call for Dogs!

Dewey the Art Dog happily shares this info with all the talented and arts-loving pooches out there!

The Delaware Children’s Theatre (DCT) is seeking to cast the role of “Toto”, Dorothy’s beloved dog, in its upcoming sequel to The Wizard of Oz.  This potential canine star should be Toto-like, calm and well behaved. If your pet is chosen, he or she will be featured in DCT's original musical,  Welcome Back to Oz: Dorothy Meets The Patchwork Girl,  written and directed by Donna Marie Swajeski.

DCT is actively looking for a special dog, small to medium sized, who captures the spirit of Toto.  Our new Toto's lucky owner must be available to escort this 'star' to a few rehearsals in February and be present  at all performances Saturday and Sunday afternoons in March.  “Calling all Yorkies, terriers,  Malteses, and adorable mutts. I've worked in dog rescue and know there are many fantastic dogs out there who may just steal this show. Good behavior skills a must but no acting experience required. Pay, non-negotiable, is in dog treats," states Donna Marie Swajeski.

Interested dog owners can submit photos of their dog to the Delaware Children’s Theatre via email at info@dechildrenstheatre.org or on Facebook. Please submit a line or two about "Why your dog would be the perfect Toto."  Dog and owner will practice with the cast and perform in nine shows from March 7-29.  The deadline for submission is January 23, 2015 at noon.  Calls backs will be held in late January.  “Toto” is the last role to be cast.    

Welcome Back to Oz is part of a series of original musicals produced, written and directed by Donna Swajeski, an Emmy winning writer and the Artistic Director at DCT.   “For decades, The Wizard of Oz has been a children's book that families have embraced. It's an inspiring story with wonderful life lessons and in this sequel, we get a chance to see what's happened to the Lion, Tin man and Scarecrow now that they have their gifts from the Wizard. In its day, The Wizard of Oz was so popular that Baum was asked time and time again to write new stories featuring Dorothy and Toto – that's what we are bringing to our audience.” states Donna Marie Swajeski.  All the characters return in this sequel. Dorothy, Toto, Tin man, Lion, Scarecrow along with new heroines in Ojo, a loveable Munchkin and Scraps, her rag doll come to life. Dorothy leads her friends on an exciting quest to help Glinda stop the last remaining Wicked Witch from practicing Forbidden Magic.

See www.delawarechildrenstheatre.org. 

More Delaware's Best ArtStuff of 2014!

By Guest Blogger, Alex del Tufo

Alex is a high school student attending Wilmington Friends School with an interest in journalism as a major. She is an editor for her school newspaper, has served as an intern at Out and About magazine and has written for WXPN’s website. Alex hopes to expand her love of music and writing through helping with our blog.  

Narrowing down my "Best Delaware Arts Experiences of 2014" is an excruciating feat. There are numerous concerts, shows, and performances that can be distinguished as some of the best the Delaware Arts Scene has to offer.

A concert that stands out in my mind was Run River North, who performed an incredible set at the Baby Grand in the Grand Opera House in July. The group is categorized as a Korean-American indie folk-rock band, but that doesn’t even begin to describe them. Among the six members, they can probably play any instrument imaginable, including violins, guitars, drums and of course, vocals. The sextet is impossible to squeeze into any one musical genre. I think their performance was breathtaking and has me hoping Delaware will see much more of them in the future.

My second 2014 Delaware Arts moment is not strictly 2014, but the annual Spring Standards Boxing Day Event at Arden Gild Hall. For seven years, the day after Christmas has been dedicated to witnessing the religiously enthusiastic and talented trio, The Spring Standards, light up Arden. Just steps away from my house, the Gild Hall is home to not only our annual favorite but also welcomes several foreign acts. We Were Promised Jetpacks, a Scottish indie rock band, graced the stage in March. I first heard their music in the indie film, The Kings of Summer, and couldn’t stop listening. I hope that the Gild Hall can welcome them to be a part of their list of regular performers alongside The Spring Standards.

A Delaware music moment that cannot be overlooked is the 3^rd annual Firefly Music Festival in Dover. This summer event started as a relatively small outdoor concert but quickly erupted into a musical extravaganza hosting around 100 bands and welcoming tens of thousands of festival fanatics. Firefly 2014 brought in performers from Foo Fighters to our local group, New Sweden. My favorite show had to be the energetic indie pop duo, twenty one pilots. Four days of non-stop music and good company was a weekend never to forget, and never to miss again!

A change in pace from the many excellent bands that hit Delaware in 2014, is the outstanding performance of James Joyce's The Dead by City Theater Company. They served up nine performances of at The Black Box at OperaDelaware Studios, where they turned the space into a working Irish "pub." The show was an excellent combination of intriguing dialogue and beautiful musical pieces. The plot simply followed a group of family and friends in their house in Ireland, and the family conflicts that can arise in the comfort of one’s home. The intimate performance space of the show sparked a connection between the actors and the audience that is hard to beat.

2014 brought too many more outstanding concerts and shows to list — and I have faith that 2015 will do much the same for Delaware!