Recent High Tech High graduate and playwright Katherine Quinn will soon see a year’s worth of her work realized on stage at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park.
The production “” which will take place Saturday, Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m. “” is part of the 22nd annual Plays by Young Writers series at the Globe, which offers student playwrights a chance to see their works on the big stage.
This year Quinn’s play was one of four chosen for full production, selected from 234 submissions to the California Young Playwrights Contest. All of the plays were written by teenagers and professionally produced by Playwrights Project.
Quinn’s play, “The Aftermath of Cassidy Joan,” encapsulates the experiences of a teenage girl whose parents are divorcing. The story is about the lack of communication that occurs when the parents split, Quinn said “” a familiar subject, as she has dealt with similar circumstances.
Quinn, 17, started writing the play early in 2006, though the idea came about when she was a sophomore. Quinn found that High Tech’s creative writing workshop was the perfect chance to express herself. The project-based curriculum gave Quinn the opportunity she needed refine her skills while working with like-minded individuals, she said.
“My favorite part, at the moment, was going to the rehearsals because the actors are adding things I would have never thought of. It’s wonderful to see it grow,” Quinn said.
Quinn is now a freshman film student at the University of California, Davis. She has committed herself to writing one script a year and said she plans on continuing that schedule in hopes that the skills she gained at High Tech High have prepared her for a lucrative future as a writer.
She said being selected for the Plays by Young Writers event has been an overwhelming experience for her because she never expected it.
Quinn’s play is one of four chosen for full production, along with three works selected for performed readings. Theatre professionals evaluated the 234 submissions from teens and students around California. The finalists selected from the 234 submissions further revised their work with the help from theatre professionals. The final version of the plays are then produced, directed and performed in a professional setting, according to Playwrights Project Representative Cecelia Kouma.
The final productions involve diverse subjects by young minds with sophisticated ideas, Kouma added.
“Our mission is to give students a voice and let them realize the power of language and theater to bring [their] ideas to life,” Kouma said.
The plays address themes such as self-discovery and friendship. “Elevated” is about a woman climbing the corporate ladder who has a change of heart during an elevator ride with employee of the building where she works. “The Courier” dramatizes the plight of a young soldier whose job is to deliver horrible news to families of soldiers who have died in action. And “Stage Directions” is about a young gay man discovering love and friendship.
The 22nd season of Plays by Young Writers is produced by the Playwrights Project, a nonprofit organization that promotes literacy, creativity and communication skills through theater. Playwrights Project was founded in 1985 by Executive and Artistic Director Deborah Salzer, who has earned community praises for her work in arts education.
For information on ticket sales and event details, visit www.playwrightsproject.com.
The plays run Jan. 11 through 21 at the Globe’s Cassius Carter Centre Stage.