Mill Mountain Theatre Conservatory has selected the winning plays for their fourth annual Write Stuff! Young Playwrights Festival. Write Stuff! serves to connect Mill Mountain Theatre’s expanding education programming with its historical and ongoing commitment to new play development.
Write Stuff! Coordinator Christopher Castanho spoke to how the festival is evolving. “We could not be more excited about the growth Write Stuff! is having in its fourth year! MMT received a record-breaking number of submissions this year, so we decided to split the festival into two parts in order to give more young playwrights the opportunity to present their work. The first act of the evening will be readings of new plays, with actors at music stands, focusing on the words and diving deep into the world of the play. Our second act will consist of staged readings, with actors in costumes, holding their scripts, and beginning to put the plays on their feet.”
Mill Mountain Theatre professional artists have selected six winning plays to be workshopped this year. Three plays will receive readings and three will be produced in a staged reading format, all performed by Mill Mountain Theatre Conservatory students and directed by MMT staff. The festival will take place at 7:00pm on February 22nd, 2020 on MMT’s Waldron Stage.
True Love, by Gracie Ridings, shares the story of Sandy, a sixteen-year-old girl who is told by a psychic that she will meet her Aquarius true love within the current moon cycle. Will Sandy meet the man of her dreams? Her best friend Minty will stop at nothing to see Sandy carried off into the sunset! True Love will be presented in our Reading Series. Gracie Ridings is ecstatic that her play has been chosen! She is a huge theatre nerd, and loves writing in her spare time. Gracie participates in both the onstage and offstage aspects of theatre and has enjoyed writing for a few years, particularly fiction writing where she gets to be so much more creative.
Okay, by Caroline Moledor, is a coming of age story, exploring the inner struggle of making friends and feeling like you belong. Follow Sam on her journey of growing up and becoming more comfortable in her own skin. Okay will be presented in our Reading Series. Caroline Moledor is a 9th grade Conservatory student who is thrilled to be participating for her 4th year as a playwright in Write Stuff! Besides writing, Caroline loves to perform and recently finished her 12th MMT credit, playing the role of Louisa von Trapp in The Sound of Music. She would like to thank Christopher Castanho and Michelle LoRicco for teaching her most everything she knows about playwriting. Love to Mom, Dad, Payton, and James.
Café Amor, by Serena Fick and Anna Clare Fleenor, is a hilarious and farcical tale set in Victorian era France. Forbidden romance, baguettes, and a poodle fill the Café Amor and run rampant with all of the creative characters that inhabit it. Café Amor will be presented in our Reading Series. Co-Playwright Serena Fick is thrilled to make her playwright’s debut with Mill Mountain Theatre. As a current senior at Salem High School, Serena has acted in multiple roles including Madame Le Beau in As You Like It and Madame Arcati in an upcoming production of Blithe Spirit. She is considering making “Madame” her official title. Serena plans to attend Warren Wilson College and aspires to one day eat 12 baguettes in one sitting. Co-Playwright Anna Clare Fleenor is also a senior at Salem High School, though she has always been more interested in writing and directing plays than acting in them. As well as theater, Anna Clare spends most of her time swimming competitively. She plans to attend Kenyon College next year to swim and study Environmental Studies, and, later, fall in love with a rich English man.
LoveFiguratively, by Conner Hunt, explores the chaotic world of speed dating. Join James Smith, a 34 year old who enjoys fast food dinners and short runs on the treadmill, as he meets a menagerie of kooky characters. Will James find love or just continue to pick up the crazies? LoveFiguratively will be presented in our Staged Reading Series. Playwright Conner Hunt is an 8th grader at Community School in Roanoke. He runs cross country and plays soccer, basketball, and baseball. Conner lives in Troutville with his parents and little sister, Katie, and is very excited about this opportunity to work with Mill Mountain on his first play.
The Third Wheels, by Ava Lazar, sheds light on the rivalry between the Prom Decor Club and the RPG (role-playing-games) club at the local high school. What starts out as an initiation prank between two students blossoms into a beautiful relationship. The Third Wheels will be presented in our Staged Reading Series. Playwright Ava Lazar is a 15-year-old playwright and filmmaker from Blacksburg High School. Her films have aired nationally on C-SPAN and usually cover local history and social justice. In her spare time, Ava reads, writes, and creates anything she can. She would like to thank Mill Mountain Theatre, as well as her supportive parents and sister.
Apple Apocalypse, by James Moledor, is an alternate-reality story of all apples being banned from the world. Young Mack Intosh goes on a vendetta to see that apples are reinstated, and he hopes to make his Granny Smith proud. Apple Apocalypse will be presented in our Staged Reading Series. James Moledor is an 8th grade homeschooler who is ecstatic to be back at Mill Mountain Theatre. This is his first time submitting for Write Stuff! and is thrilled to see his play performed. He enjoys writing, acting, singing, and dancing, and his most recent MMT performing credits include The Sound of Music (Friedrich), The Little Mermaid Jr. (Jetsam), and Shrek The Musical: TYA (Pinocchio). He would also like to thank his parents and sisters for all their love and support.
“Write Stuff! is an incredible experience for young artists to work on a new play process. It isn’t often that young people get to be involved in brand new plays: learning how scripts change, how characters are developed, and how to work with a playwright in the room,” says Travis Kendrick, Mill Mountain Theatre’s Director of Education. “Since the program’s inception, Mill Mountain Theatre has given this experience to young playwrights, who get to see their words come to life onstage as other young actors embody the characters that they have created. The new plays always perform to a full house, and each playwright participates in a talk-back discussion with the audience afterward,” he added.
Sponsors for Write Stuff! Include: Boxley Materials Co., Business Solutions, Inc., Davis H. Elliot Company Inc., The Dunkenberger-Waskey Group at Morgan Stanley, Innovative Insurance Group, and Pinnacle Financial Partners. Grantors include: Blue Star Theatres, Center in the Square, City of Roanoke Arts Commission, City of Salem, National Endowments for the Arts, Theatre Communications Group and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
Write Stuff! performs for one-night-only on Saturday, February 22nd at 7pm on MMT’s Waldron Stage. Tickets are only available at the door and are pay-what-you-can. Visit millmountain.org/write-stuff-2020 to learn more.
