YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS PROGRAM
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Bring writing for performance into your classroom!
Dobama Theatre is partnering with schools and community organizations to bring the art of playwriting to classrooms all over Northeast Ohio. There are MANY different ways to tell a story. Playwriting, while grounded in language arts, is inherently interdisciplinary. Students can write about what interests them, from physics to historical events to social justice. The
application of these topics to the writing process reinforces retention throughout the STEAM curriculum. In leading students through the revision process, workshops also encourage critical analysis and creative problem-solving in a supportive arena.
This year-round education program is taught by professional playwrights and theatre artists. The wide-ranging resources available include classroom residencies, virtual workshops, instructional videos, and a fully adaptable curriculum based on grade level.
Workshops and residencies are FREE to public schools due to a generous grant from Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. For more information, or to schedule a workshop, email Education Director Carrie Williams at youngplaywrights@dobama.org. clicking here.
Scroll down for information on
the Marilyn Bianchi Kids’ Playwriting Festival
Marilyn Bianchi Kids’ Playwriting Festival
ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE
46th ANNUAL MARILYN BIANCHI KIDS’ PLAYWRITING FESTIVAL!
Dobama Theatre is thrilled to share that the following young playwrights will be honored during this year's festival:
Avighn Asur, 8th grade, North Royalton Middle School, THE QUEST FOR PEACE
Charlotte White, 5th grade, Hilltop Elementary, TAKING BACK YELLOWSTONE!
Ellyiot Garcia**, 4th grade, Fairfax Elementary, GAME WORLD
Gloria Chasney**, 7th grade, Roxboro Middle School , PANGOLIN PLANET
Griffin Conway**, 4th grade, Westview Elementary, COLOR WORLD
Jonathon Wysochanski, 2nd grade, Eastern Heights Elementary, THE NAIL
Katherine Sheeran, 5th grade, North Royalton Middle School, THE ELECTRICAL ELEVATOR DISASTER
Katie Scheff**, 6th grade, North Royalton Middle School, THE LEMMINGS
Lauren Borst**, 3rd grade, Erieview Elementary, TUCKER’S ADVENTURE
Lilith Schmidt, 12th grade, Shaker Heights High School, GHOSTFIGHTERS! LIVE
Mae Wallace, 3rd grade, Fernway Elementary, THE ROSE OF NEFERTITI
Mia Barefoot**, 11th grade, Shaker Heights High School, THE BOY AND THE STARS
Mia Hart**, 12th grade, Shaker Heights High School, THE INSECURITY GUARD
Nathan Balk**, 8th grade, Homeschool, PANGOLIN PLANET
Olivia Airgood, 5th grade, Fairfax Elementary, FREDERICK’S ADVENTURE
R'lexceia Cannon**, 10th grade, East Tech High School, TIL DEATH DO US PART
Rithvik Prakash, 5th grade, North Royalton Middle School, VELTA’S TRUE VISAGE
Sachi Shah**, 8th grade, North Royalton Middle School, GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN
Sophia Petrovic, 7th grade, Ruffing Montessori, THE TAIL OF MR WHISKERS
Sophia Vovos, 9th grade, St. Joseph Academy, MAN TO MAN
Sophie Tomaszewska, 6th grade, North Royalton Middle School, THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF IRIS
Tessa Okuh, 5th grade, Greenview Middle School, THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE CARROT-EARRING THIEF
Thomas Richards V**, 8th grade, North Royalton Middle School, LUNAR COLLISION
Timothy Denysyuk, 7th grade, North Royalton Middle School, PABLO PALMER AND THE PURPLE PORTAL
**These students’ plays will be presented in the 46th Marilyn Bianchi Kids’ Playwriting Festival Performances at Dobama Theatre June 7-9, 2024
Thanks and ever thanks to the hundreds of marvelous students who shared their plays with us, the teachers, community partners who allowed the Young Playwrights Program to be part of their curriculum, our fabulous team of Teaching Artists, to Lake Erie Ink, and the 65 judges who made sure every play was read with delight and thoughtfulness.
Submissions are open for the 46th Annual Marilyn Bianchi Kids’ Playwriting Festival!
Plays must be received by Education Director Carrie Williams by March 1, 2024, at youngplaywrights@dobama.org.
The Marilyn Bianchi Kids’ Playwriting Festival (MBKPF), was created in honor of Dobama co-founder Marilyn Bianchi after her passing. For over 40 years, the MBKPF has recognized talented playwrights in grades 1-12 and celebrated the creative voices of youth all over Northeast Ohio. Once students submit their original plays, the plays are scored by three adult judges, and select scripts are produced on the Dobama stage for the Festival performances in June.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
● ANY Northeast Ohio student in grades 1-12 can write and submit a short, original play to the MBKPF. It doesn’t matter what kind of school you go to - public, private, charter, homeschool - you are welcome to participate!
● Plays must be the original work of the student submitting it. No adaptations or copying situations or characters from movies, TV, books, video games, or other plays.
● Submitted plays should be no longer than 10 minutes when read aloud.
● The play can be any topic or genre: comedy, drama, mystery, fantasy - wherever your imagination leads you!
● Every play will be read and scored by at least three adult judges with experience in writing, theatre arts, and/or education. Scores are awarded on the basis of imagination, originality, and human values as much as playwriting skills.
● Between 15 and 22 high-scoring plays are selected as winners every year.
● Some of the winning plays will be selected for production on Dobama's stage for the Festival performances in early June of 2024.
HOW TO SUBMIT A PLAY
● Typed plays attached as word or Google documents can be emailed to: youngplaywrights@dobama.org.
● Each submission must include a completed Entry Form. This provides contact information for students and their families so we can notify the winners. The Entry Form must be signed by an adult guardian if the submitting playwright is under 18. Entry Forms for the next MBKPF can be downloaded by clicking the blue button below.
● Submissions for the 23/24 Festival are due by MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2024.
The Marilyn Bianchi Kids’ Playwriting Festival is made possible through the support of:
The Marilyn Bianchi Kids' Playwriting Festival is supported in part by The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, The Abington Foundation, The David and Inez Myers Foundation, The Harry K. and Emma R. Fox Charitable Foundation, The Music and Drama Club, and The Dennis Bianchi Charitable Fund in memory of Donald and Marilyn Bianchi.
Dobama Theatre is dedicated to premiering important new plays by established and emerging playwrights in professional productions of the highest quality. Through theatrical production, community engagement, and education programming, Dobama nurtures the development of theatre artists and builds new audiences for the arts while provoking an examination of our contemporary world.
Dobama Theatre is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this organization with state tax dollars designated to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
Dobama Theatre is also generously supported by many individual donors and the following foundations: The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, The Milton and Tamar Maltz Family Foundation, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, The Reminger Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation.