The DCPA’s third annual year-long Regional High School Playwriting Workshop and Competition culminated June 17 with two public performances of Kendra Knapp’s Sonder. The playwright is a recent graduate of Valor Christian High School.

Last fall, DCPA Education staff members conducted 145 classroom workshops for 3,100 Colorado students. That resulted in 212 one-act play submissions from young writers all over the state. A team of professional adjudicators determined 10 semifinalists. Of those, three were selected to have their plays workshopped by the DCPA Education staff and read by professional actors at the 2015 Colorado New Play Summit in February.

Video: Finalist readings at the New Play Summit

From there, Sonder was selected for a fully staged  production. The video above takes you there. Interviewees include Knapp, Sonder Director Patrick Elkins-Zeglarski, DCPA Director of Education Allison Watrous, and actors Avery Dell and Desmond Jackson (pictured above).

Sonder follows a community of young people who are seeking real connection, but from the safety and distance of the internet.

Video by David Lenk and John Moore for the DCPA’s NewsCenter.


Our complete 2015-16 Student Playwriting photo gallery:


Photos from rehearsal through performances of the three finalist readings at the 2016 Colorado New Play Summit. To see more, click the ‘forward’ arrow on the image above. Photos by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter. 

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

Selected previous NewsCenter coverage of the Student Playwriting Competition:
Video, pic, story: Stirring the passions of student writers … and future engineers
2016 finalists named for Regional High School Playwriting Competition
2016 Summit: An infusion of invisible color and hidden voices
Denver Center launches statewide high-school playwriting initiative
Direct link to our Flickr photo gallery

Our complete countdown of 2016 semifinalists:
No. 1: Jafei Pollitt, Denver School of the Arts
No. 2: Jessica Wood, Denver Christian High School
No. 3: Kristine Guo, Peak to Peak Charter School
No. 4: Gabrielle Moore, D’Evelyn High School
No. 5: Ashley Wright and Amelia Middlebrooks, Valor Christian High School
No. 6: Kalina Gallardo, Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy
No. 7: Kiera Eriksen-McAuliffe, Denver School of the Arts
No. 8: Stephanie Kiel and Mady McGraw, Chatfield Senior High School
No. 9: Kendra R. Knapp, Valor Christian High School
No. 10: Jacob Kendrick, Peak to Peak Charter School

“Sonder” playwright Kendra Knapp. Photo by John Moore.