The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is proud to announce the winning plays as part of its annual High School and Middle School Playwriting Competition, which has impacted more than 25,000 students since its inception in 2013.

The DCPA’s Education & Community Engagement Department launched the playwriting program to spark interest in the arts for Colorado high school and middle school students and to assist budding playwrights in developing their skills and furthering their passion for theatre. The program offers free playwriting workshops and the opportunity to submit a one-act play (high school) or 10-minute play (middle school) for professional review. Ten high school finalists including three winners and three middle school spotlight plays are awarded top honors in the competition.

This year, the DCPA received 135 total submissions. After careful review by a panel of artistic, literary and education professionals, DCPA Education is pleased to announce the finalists and winners of the 2022 High School and Middle School Playwriting Competition:

2022 HIGH SCHOOL PLAYWRITING FINALISTS:

Conrad Branch

Boys on the Bus (Finalist)

Conrad Branch, Junior | East Denver High School

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

While writing this play, I learned that I had the ability to empathize with my male classmates…. Being able to explore this concept and express my frustrations through this play, I’ve learned that under all that testosterone, we all just might have a heart worth singing for.

Rosemaree (Patton) Coughlin

Forgotten Gold (Finalist)

Rosemaree (Patton) Coughlin, Freshman | Pueblo County High School

How would you describe your play?

I would describe it as a play of love growing. What started as innocent platonic love soon grew into something more for two boys, even when it was cut short, they found a way back to each other. And I think that’s beautiful.

Jesse Sigler

Growing With the Stars (Finalist)

Jesse Sigler, Senior | Pueblo County High School

How would you describe your play?

I’d say my play is wholesome, heartwarming, and will make you want to start a tradition of your own. Or even rekindle old ones too.

Amelia Fiore

How You’re Hardwired (Finalist)

Amelia Fiore, Senior | Chatfield High School

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

I’ve been acting for a few years and never fully appreciated the depth of playwriting until this competition. There’s something so mesmerizing about creating your own space and communicating with the world by telling stories through it.

Juniette Rose Miller

Leftovers are in the Fridge (Finalist)

Juniette Rose Miller, Junior | Valor Christian High School

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

Going into it, I knew that I was basing the play off my own experiences with beauty standards, but as I kept writing I began noticing how much I had in common with Diana when it came to body image and the pressure from others to fit the beauty standard.

Kavery Kallichanda

Of Yarn and Stars (Finalist)

Kavery Kallichanda, Senior | Cherry Creek High School

How would you describe your play?

A confrontation between two sisters, whose relationship reflects my sister’s and my own, leads to new understandings for both of them.

Jacob Wood

Juan Alvarado

Taking Candy (Finalist)

Jacob Wood and Juan Alvarado, Junior and Senior | Kennedy High School

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

Something new we discovered about ourselves is we are more than victims and have the possibility to speak out and bring awareness to the real trauma and stigma around SA.

2022 HIGH SCHOOL PLAYWRITING WINNERS:

Jocelyn McMullen

Insectivore (Winner)

Jocelyn McMullen, Senior | Pueblo County High School

An ancient moth creature goes on a quest for food and finds a friend instead.

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

I found that many of my friendships were formed in unconventional situations…. The best connections are those forged by the uglier parts of life because they show who’ll stick with us through the rest of the rough patches.

What is your favorite line from your play?

My favorite line is a tie between “You’re my favorite thing,” and simply “Dust Bunnies.”

If you could cast one known actor in your play, who would it be, in which role, and why?

I’d cast David Tennant to play Mothman. I loved his portrayal of Crowley in Good Omens and would like to see him fill more somewhat goofy roles. Plus, he’d look good in the Mothman costume.

Ricardo D’Urso

They Stole the Moon (Winner)

Ricardo D’Urso, Senior | Cherry Creek High School

This play exposes the effects of mental health struggles in teens.

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

I realized how insightful I am, I took a deep look at myself and the people around me and realized that everyone is going through something.

What is your favorite line from your play?

“Penguins keep the same partner, no messing around, no playing spin the bottle for them, no ‘making a mistake cause I was drunk,’ just love… love and fish.”

If you could cast one known actor in your play, who would it be, in which role, and why?

I’d have to say Timothée Chalamet would be perfect to play Jay. That’s how I’ve always pictured him looking like and they both have the same type of cynical comedy. I think he would really bring Jay alive.

Aaditya Bahl

Whispers Through the Kitchen Door (Winner)

Aaditya Bahl, Junior | ThunderRidge High School

A misinterpreted conversation leads to a night full of shenanigans in order to find out the truth.

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

I found out that I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to plays…. I had to go back through the play and cut down on the stage directions because I was going over the 35-page limit.

What was your favorite line from the play?

“Blunt. She’s talking about blunts. I’m not an idiot, Robert. I know what that means. She’s smoking blunts, Robert! MARY-JEW-ANNA, Robert. MARY. JEW. ANNA.”

If you could cast one known actor in your play, who would it be, in which role, and why?

I would probably cast Catherine O’Hara as Carol because she is so good at portraying comedic and over the top characters. I feel like with all of the comedic roles O’Hara has played (many of them mothers, like Moira in Schitt’s Creek) she would be able to do Carol justice.

2022 MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAYWRITING WINNERS:

Raegan Avery

A Like, How Far Would You Go?

Raegan Avery, 7th Grade | Denver School for the Arts

Lola (14) sees a new trend on the social media app called click clock, which includes jumping off the roof onto the trampoline for a simple ‘like.’

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

I learned that I’m a lot like Anna. I’ve never been one to follow trends and try to separate myself from all peer pressure. Anna is a girl who chooses to live by the rules and trends that she makes herself. She is very independent and realistic, and I look up to her a surprising amount.

What is your favorite line from your play?

“Lola can be such a Regina George. You know, from the musical Mean Girls.”

If you could cast one known actor in your play, who would it be, in which role, and why?

I would cast the actress McKenna Grace as Lola. I thought of McKenna to play Lola because I used to see McKenna as a background character a lot, but I have picked up that as an actress she has real talent.

Wilson Walker

Aluminum’s Identity Crisis

Wilson Walker, 6th Grade | North Routt Community Charter School

Aluminum is having an internal struggle over his good and evil side, so he turns to Dr. Argon, one of the most stable elements on the periodic table, for advice.

What is something new that you learn about yourself while writing your play?

Probably how creative I can be. I do not think of myself as a creative person, but this was probably my most creative piece and I had a lot of fun with it.

What is your favorite line from the play?

It would probably be “Yum, Leftovers”

If you could cast one known actor in your play, who would it be, in which role, and why?

I think it would have to be Kevin Hart as the doctor. I just think that he would make a hilarious doctor.

Abby Heider

Hope is a Thing with Feathers

Abby Heider, 6th Grade | Merrill Middle School

Two birds with opposing personalities discuss the effects of pollution on wildlife in Colorado.

What was something new you discovered about yourself while writing your play?

I wanted to read stories about the environment and climate change with less apocalyptic endings—so I wrote one!

What is your favorite line from your play?

“Tell me it’s not that argument between the opossums and the chickadees again. I’ve gotten pulled into that brouhaha every single time I exit the nest.”

If you could cast one known actor in your play, who would it be, in which role, and why?

I would cast America Ferrera in the role of Sally, or Mrs. Bird, because she has played characters in the past that are determined, fierce, and are never afraid to speak their minds, all attributes of Mrs. Bird.

The top three plays by each age group will be included in the 2022 Playwriting Anthology and the three winning high school plays will receive a public staged reading as part of the 2022 Colorado New Play Summit. Additionally, each winner will receive a $250 prize and each of the playwrights’ teachers will receive $250 toward the purchase of books or tools for their classrooms.

The DCPA’s High School and Middle School Playwriting Competition is made possible by our generous sponsors: Transamerica, Chevron Corporation, and The Robert and Judi Newman Family Foundation.

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