Buffalo Rising Online

Apr 27th, 5:27am By Eli George

If you’re interested in seeing the future of playwriting, be sure to head to Shea’s Smith Theatre for the annual Write To Be Heard competition. Now in its tenth year, this event showcases the winner and two runner-ups by performing their plays. The participants are high school students from grades 8-12 and a select committee of high school students, called a dramaturgy, chooses the winners.

This event is coordinated and headed by Margo Davis, who is the founder of the competition. “My whole purpose in doing this is giving high schoolers a reason to write to be heard,” says Davis. She adds, “The other huge reason is just to connect kids interested in theatre to kids in other schools.”

The winner of the competition is awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the Laura A. Adams Foundation. The runner-ups receive a small monetary prize, usually provided by Barnes and Noble Booksellers, but this year, Davis explains it may have to come out of her own pocket. Normally, Barnes and Noble helps sponsor the event and even allows the three winners to come to their store located on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst to do a staged reading.

However, this year there has a been a change in their community resources department and Davis has yet to be able to set a date. Up until now the has staged reading at the store has been an annual occurrence, but for now, no date has been able to be arranged.

There have also been some program changes to the performances this year. Due to the enormity of the cast of characters for the winning play, instead of a full performance with sets and costumes, the play will be performed as a reader’s theatre. Davis explains “reader’s theatre” as halfway between a staged reading and a full production. She says there will be movement on stage and some costumes, but that the play is simply too large to be able to be performed.

The winning play is Being What We Are, written by Meredith A. Jones of Hamburg High School. Her teacher, Michelle Godfrey, who is a member of the New York State Theatre Education Association (NYSTEA), sponsored Jones. The NYSTEA is one of the qualifiers to submit a play – the student must have a teacher who is a member of the association and the teacher must be in good standing. The only other requirement is that the school be located within a 60-mile radius of Buffalo.

Another surprise for this year’s event is the play written by eighth grader Alex Fultz of Hoover Middle School. His play, entitled Squirrel, won him a runner-up position, which Davis says, “He’s the youngest one ever to have placed.” Davis, who will be directing this play, said the other unique aspect about this play is that most of it will happen in the dark. She says she is not sure if Fultz intended it to be that way, but due to the amount of action, it is necessary to leave it up to the imagination of the audience.

The winning play will be directed by Kristen Tripp Kelley, who is a well-known actress and head of theatre at Nichols School. The other runner-up play is Take Not In Vain, written by Charlene Miller from Alden High School. Miller’s play will be directed by Debra Cole, a well-known director and theatre teacher who also runs an acting school she founded called “These Working Actors.”

The winning playwrights and their teacher sponsors will be honored briefly before the performances begin. The event will take place on May 4 and begins at 3pm. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students with ID and are available the day of the event. If after this event, you’re interested in seeing past student winners, Davis will be reprising a select number of plays at the Park School in Snyder on April 15, 16, & 17. If you would like more information on the performances at Shea’s Smith theatre call 829-1152 and for more information about the performances at the Park School, call 839-1242.