2017 New Play Festival Book

A collection of 27 outstanding new plays written by YPT students ages 8-18. For more than twenty years, Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT) has worked to inspire young people to realize the power of their own voices. We teach students to express themselves through the art of playwriting because we believe in the power of creative self-expression. Our programs develop students’ language skills and empower them with the creativity, confidence and critical thinking skills they need to succeed in school and beyond. In 2017, students in the In-School Program penned over 1,000 brand-new plays. Unsurprisingly, the plays are as delightful and diverse as the students themselves, and every single play was read in a classroom by professional actors during the final week of the In-School Program. Although we wish we could, we can’t share all 1,000 plays onstage. Winnowing down the enormous pool of eligible plays is a task that falls to a group of readers – actors, playwrights, directors, designers, teaching artists and YPT alumni. The 27 plays represented in this volume are the Finalists, the top 27 out of 1,000 brand-new student-written works. Your purchase of this book includes a donation to support YPT. We are incredibly grateful for your contribution. As a non-profit organization, we depend on community members like you to continue our work. Your support will help us realize the visions of even more young playwrights in the coming years, and reach even more students in the classroom.