2023 High School Playwriting readings. Photo by McLeod9 Creative

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is happy to announce the finalists of the eleventh annual High School Playwriting Competition.

The Playwriting Competition is grounded in workshops hosted by DCPA Education Teaching Artists. These in-school workshops introduce students to the fundamentals of playwriting, bolster creative writing skills and encourage them to discover their dramatic voices. In advance of this year’s competition, 106 workshops were led across Metro Denver and 12 counties throughout the state, from Arapahoe, to Routt, to Montezuma.

This year, the DCPA received 142 middle school and 107 high school submissions – nearly 100 more than last year. After careful review by a panel of artistic, literary and theatre education professionals, DCPA Education and Community Engagement is proud to announce the following finalists for the High School Playwriting Competition.

TEN HIGH SCHOOL FINALISTS

The Adults are Talking by Sophie Brown, Northfield High School

Bridge by Patton Coughlin, The Arts Academy at Pueblo County High School

The Building on 5th Street by Madalynn Tharp, Animas High School

Consider the Ravens by Victoria Schnell, Cherry Creek High School

The Envelope by Sunny Wiggins, The Arts Academy at Pueblo County High School

Eupnea by Charlie Quinn, Denver School of the Arts

Everything is Fine by Riley Dean, Denver School of the Arts

The Girl on Federal Boulevard by Casey Eidson, Denver School of the Arts

My Future is (Kinda) in Your Hands by Esther Weiss, Cherry Creek High School

Takes a Bow by Hannah Harr, Jefferson County Open School

*The three winners of the High School Playwriting Competition and three winners for the Middle School Playwriting Competition will be announced in the coming week.

The top three plays by each age group will be included in the 2024 Playwriting Anthology and the three winning high school plays will receive a public staged reading as part of the 2024 Colorado New Play Summit, running February 24 & 25. Then, the staged readings will travel to the playwright’s local high school on February 26, to share with their peer community the work and creativity of the selected playwrights.

For more information on the DCPA’s in-school programs, please visit denvercenter.org/education/for-educators/