young writers short play festival 2013

SHOWTIMES

July 11th-26th, 2014
Fridays-Saturdays

All shows at 8pm with the exception of 5/24 when all 19 plays will be presented starting at 2pm, 4pm, & 8pm

press

Columbus Dispatch Preview

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This Week’s News Article

Outlook Article - part 1

Outlook Article - part 2

show schedule

FRIDAYS
7/26, 8/2, 8/9

• NEITHER HERE NOR THERE
• PRIESTLY
  
• IN LOVE AND WAR
  
• CLOSING CLOSET DOORS

SATURDAYS
7/27, 8/3, 8/10

• MARRIED TO MELINDA REUBEN FOSTER 
  
• LITTLE RED 
  
• SWEET NOTHINGS
  
• DEAD END
  
• ELEPHANT TEA
  

MadLab will present The Young Writers Short Play Festival, a collection of nine short plays written by Columbus area high school students. This year features plays from all women playwrights. MadLab is a non-profit organization that provides an artistic haven for the creation and experience of original works. Part of that effort involves giving young people the opportunity to create original works. This festival was born from that goal. MadLab sought out submissions from area high schools and chose the best plays to produce. Student playwrights will work with experienced local playwrights to help them with their plays.

show descriptions

PRIESTLY by KINSEY CANTRELL
Delilah brings an Indulgence, a document allowing access to heaven, home to her son, Cane. Cane isn’t religious and is offended by her insinuation that he is a bad person. An argument ensues, over the course of which Delilah learns who her son has become and confronts her views of morality and religion.

CAST AND CREW
Stephen Woosley as Cane
Randi Morgan as Delilah

directed by Sean Reid

---

IN LOVE AND WAR by Amelia Koontz
Where would you go if the world were ending? For two strangers, the answer to this is a small bookstore, where they run into each other and strike up a conversation. As civilization begins to fall, they find solace and discover things about each other - and themselves - that they may never have known under any other circumstances.

CAST AND CREW

Lexy Weixel as Taylor
Joe Liles as Matt

directed by Stephen Woosley

ELEPHANT TEA by Abigail Goodhart
Elephant Tea tells the story of the eccentric Aunt Elly and her niece, Jade, who is attempting to write her aunt’s biography. As Aunt Elly recounts her whirlwind experiences in love, in friendship and even in a circus she dishes out advice on everything from dancing to dating. Throughout this one act, Jade learns not only about Aunt Elly’s life, but about embracing life itself.

CAST AND CREW
MaryBeth Griffth as Jade
Randi Morgan as Aunt Elly

directed by Michelle Batt

---

DEAD END by Lexy Weixel
Waiting always seems to bring things to an end. Still, it's always nice to have company along the way-- at least, that's what they say. But, in this waiting room everything is a bit... different. 

CAST AND CREW
Brigid Ogden as Nicky
Stephen Woosley as John
Erik Sternberger as Max
Becky Horseman as Melba

directed by Nikki Smith

---

LITTLE RED by Anna Mulhall
Little Red is the tale of one man’s struggle to come to terms with the loss of the person he loves most. Told through overlapping moments of their lives, we see the slow unraveling of their happiness, and the resulting tragedy. He holds onto her in the only ways he has left: the late, great words of men wiser than he, and the memories. This piece shows that while opposites may attract, they have a way of pulling everything apart eventually.

CAST AND CREW
Josh Kessler as Henry
Mary-Aileen St. Cyr as Margo
Sean Reid as Man

directed by Michelle Batt

---

MARRIED TO MELINDA REUBEN FOSTER
by Em Hammett
Meet Nick Schaffer: your average teenage boy who grows up to be your average adult man. Meet Melinda Reuben-Foster: your not-so-average, straight-laced, science-aimed teenage girl who grows up to be a very successful cancer researcher. In high school, Nick and Melinda are forced to work together on a health project in which they are “married” with a child (represented by a sack of flour). “Married to Melinda Reuben-Foster” encompasses the dynamic and process of their pretend marriage, including naming their sack of flour, deciding on their careers, and even making their pretend marriage work. A story about high school students, written by a high school student, this play looks at adulthood from the point of two very different young people. 

CAST AND CREW
Catherine Quamme as Melinda
Erik Sternberg as Old Nick
Chad Hewitt as Young Nick
Michelle Batt as Mrs. Foster

directed by Randi Morgan ​

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SWEET NOTHINGS by Sarah Fornshell
Written in the spirit of one of the greatest playwrights of all time, Sweet Nothings takes on the form of a Shakespearian sonnet as bride-to-be Celia is confronted by her childhood sweetheart just moments before her wedding. Caught between two men, one a treasure-hunter interested only in Celia’s money and the other an old flame with a heart of gold, Celia must choose between dousing the sparks of her past or allowing them to burn as bright as the stars.

CAST AND CREW
Jennie Price as Celia
Chad Hewitt as Neil
Erik Sternberg as Adrian

directed by Michelle Batt

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CLOSING CLOSET DOORS by Hannah Russell
Closing Closet Doors is all about the awkwardness of telling your parents your lifelong secret, whatever it may be. Lydia is trying to invite her family into a big part of her life and they aren't exactly taking it well, but that is a part of sharing things with people. This comedy tries to give a realistic picture of the most awkward day of your life.

CAST AND CREW
Brigid Ogden as Lydia
Becky Horseman as Nadia
Peter Graybel as Stanley
Randi Morgan as Myrna
Joe Liles as Danner

directed by Stephen Woosley

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NEITHER HERE NOR THERE by Emily Cipriani
George is on life support, and there's no chance of recovery. With the
help of a sarcastic, doughnut-loving Grim Reaper, George helps his family
learn to say goodbye to someone who has already gone. 

CAST AND CREW
Sean Reid as George
Mary-Aileen St. Cyr as Ruth
Lexy Weixel as Kalyn
Peter Graybeal as Grim

directed by Becky Horseman