“39th Annual Young Playwrights Festival” written by Julia W. Rath

“The Young Playwrights Festival is a citywide playwriting competition that gives voice to teenagers while promoting the art of writing for the stage.” Opening night of the 39th annual festival was capped off by awards going to four outstanding high school students whose new plays were selected for production. Held this year at Chicago Dramatists, the program took place in this order:

“Blizzard Bound” by Sophia Ponce – Whitney Young Magnet High School (directed by ILesa Duncan),

“A Question” by Lola Zimmerman – Senn High School (directed by Ben F. Locke),

“Toil & Trouble” by Ashley Snyder – Lane Tech College Prep (directed by ILesa Duncan), and

“Offices Etc. by Clark Tavas – Lane Tech College Prep (directed by Anna C. Bahow).

Each playwright was introduced via a video autobiography, immediately followed by a presentation of their professionally directed one-act play, performed by actors from Pegasus Theatre Chicago. Cast members played multiple roles and reinvented themselves as they moved from one presentation to the next. Actors included Shelby Marie Edwards, Leah Huskey, Rich Lazatin, Diego Rivera-Rodriguez, Kianna Rose, and Peter Stielstra (with understudies Emmett Knee, Mia Marks, Karli Scott and Aaron Warrow).

My favorite play was the last one on the program, “Offices Etc.” It’s a twist on what it means to work in corporate America in the computer age. The action nicely centers around Michael, a new employee who wants to do his job well, and so he’s on a quest to “find someone (anyone!) who knows how to operate Excel spreadsheets.” Initially, it seemed as if the play would be rather nerdish, but, instead, it’s a delightful comedy! Michael is the “straight man”, while practically everybody else, well, isn’t. Of all the four presentations, this one can boast of having the most actors. And here they sing and dance in their matching costumes as they play more than one role. Additionally, what makes this play so charming is its excellent directing, with smooth and logical transitions from one scene to the next and with props constantly being wheeled in and out and moved around so that they (and the actors) flow across the stage. Choreography and movement design is perfect, and I especially loved the depiction of what it means to be inside an elevator! This kind of sketch comedy resembles something that you might have seen on the old “Milton Berle Show.”

“Toil & Trouble”, which leads off the second half, is very cute and thought-provoking with its fine character development. Three sisters, all witches, have completely different personalities and approaches to the way they understand what it means to be a witch and what witchcraft means in their lives. As the play opens, we see the three standing before a boiling cauldron. Belladona (a/k/a Bella) is the oldest and most traditional of the three and harkens back to an era when witches were burnt at the stake. Chrysanthemum (a/k/a Chris) is the one who wants to be the most “normal” and a typical American college student, cell phone in hand. Of the three, she cares the least about the fact that she comes from a family of witches. Rosemary falls somewhere in between. The story describes the petty struggles among the three sisters as well as their sisterly bonding, especially in their common remembrance of their recently deceased mother. It raises questions about an individual’s personal religious or spiritual beliefs as compared to their religious identity. When and why should a person hold onto family traditions and affiliations? And in under what circumstances might it be appropriate to stray from them? And above all, what it means to live with intent?

In “Blizzard Bound”, which opens the show, three hapless customers find themselves trapped in a convenience store as the snow gets deeper and deeper outside. A clerk named Lola has desperately wanted to close up shop at the end of her shift, but she now finds herself spending the night inside the store with these strangers. But then during a sudden power outage, the unexpected happens… and a fourth person comes on the scene. This short play has some decent twists and turns that keep the audience engaged plus some amount of character development. But the bathroom humor was, to my mind, unnecessary to tell a good story.

Lastly, there is the play called “A Question.” A man and a woman find themselves on a bench outdoors contemplating their lives (or what’s left of them) as an asteroid is quickly plunging to earth, bent on the planet’s destruction. I liked the premise and the beginning very much. It’s basically a conversation between them with very little plot, and it’s meant to be contemplative if not existentialist. Perhaps I missed something, but I didn’t see the story containing just one question (as the title suggests), but rather it raises many questions. Plus, my guest and I had very different views about the ending and what it means, and I don’t think that should have been unclear.

The multipurpose set by scenic designer Manuel Ortiz works decently for all four plays. It’s made up of six panels on the wall behind the stage, two each in red, blue, and yellow, each of which has been painted by Wendy Ann using a ragging technique. Wendy Ann has also done a bang-up job with the prop design. Store displays containing food and other products are wheeled off to be replaced by a bench in the second play. After intermission, we see the large cauldron and herbs, to be replaced by desks, chairs, and a laptop computer in the last presentation. Lighting by Brenden Marble works well for this small stage. Using the green footlights to light up the witches adds a nice touch, and it was just enough light enough for the audience to see what was happening during the darkness at the convenience store.

Costume design by Saawan Tiwari is well done. Very fitting are the long black cloaks and pointy hats that the witches wear, together with the traditional 17th century witch’s dress underneath Belladona’s cloak; this is in sharp contrast with the modern outfits underneath the cloaks of the other two sisters. The matching outfits of white shirts, black trousers, and red suspenders to represent the conformity of office workers in American corporations could not have been any better!

Zach Stinnett’s sound design is decent. However, as the audience was assembling at the beginning of the press opening, the music was much too loud. It was toned down somewhat at intermission, which improved things, so that my guest and I were able to have a conversation.

Ilesa Duncan, the executive and producing director of Pegasus Theatre, took the microphone at the end of the program to commend the talented students and present their awards. She started with the student who received an honorable mention but whose play was not produced and then called up the others one-by-one. Photographs of all the students were taken with her, director Ben Locke, and the show’s cast to commemorate this special occasion. (Note that director Anna C. Bahow could not be there for the opening reception.)

What a great idea to have a contest that encourages young people to submit short plays with the aim of having access to theatre professionals who can enhance their work! The festival is a credit to all these talented high school students who have dreamt up such interesting subjects within very different genres. It’s also a credit to the English teachers, creative writing teachers, and drama teachers who worked with these students to help turn their one-act scripts into full-scale productions.

The 39th Annual Young Playwrights Festival is playing through January 24, 2026, at Chicago Dramatists, 798 N. Aberdeen, in Chicago, near the intersection of Milwaukee and Chicago Avenues.

General admission tickets are $15 – $30.

Performance schedule:(thru January 24th)

Fridays at 7:00 p.m.
Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are available at https://pegasustheatrechicago.org/.

Educators may schedule school group matinees via YPF@PegasusTheatreChicago.org.

For information about how to submit a play for next year’s Young Playwrights Festival, visit: https://pegasustheatrechicago.org/education/young-playwrights-festival/how-to-participate/ or email info@pegasustheatrechicago.org.

Editor note:

While this is not an actual review, others have opted to do so, and if you want to see what others are saying, you can go to www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “39th Annual Young Playwrights Festival”.