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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: JIM KLEINMANN
415.992.6677
[email protected]
PLAYGROUND ANNOUNCES
2015 YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FINALISTS
STUDENT PLAYS TO RECEIVE PROFESSIONAL READINGS
AT BEST OF PLAYGROUND FESTIVAL, MAY 14-17
SAN FRANCISCO, (May 4, 2015) - PlayGround is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2015
Young Playwrights Contest. PlayGround invited aspiring writers and theatre artists at the high
school level to write and submit their own 10-minute plays inspired by the topic: HERSTORY:
The Greatest Stories Never Told. The four selected plays will each receive a professional staged
reading, presented as a “curtain raiser” before select performances of the 19th Best of
PlayGround Festival (http://playground-sf.org/bestof) at Thick House in May. PlayGround
invites audiences to join in welcoming these bold new voices to the stage.
The selected plays/ finalists are: HOME FRONT by Camilla Dwyer (SOTA ’17),
DARLING ON THE NICKEL by Rocko Bauman (Berkeley High School ’15), MAN'S WORK
by Neil Binnie (Miramonte High School ’17), and DIFFERENT PIECES OF OPPRESSION by
Rebecca Shalliker (Albany High School ’16). Join us May 14-17 as we celebrate the work of
these emerging young writers as a part of this year’s Best of PlayGround. For more info, visit
http://playground-sf.org/youngplaywrights.
WHAT:
Young Playwrights Contest Staged Readings
WHEN:
Thursday, May 14 @ 8pm / HOME FRONT by Camilla Dwyer, directed by Doyle Ott
Friday, May 15 @ 8pm / ON THE NICKEL by Rocko Bauman, directed by Michael French
Saturday, May 16 @ 8pm / MAN'S WORK by Neil Binnie, directed by Claire Rice
Sunday, May 17 @ 7pm / DIFFERENT PIECES OF OPPRESSION by Rebecca Shalliker,
directed by Dylan Russell
WHERE:
Thick House, 1695 18th Street, San Francisco, CA
INFO:
http://playground-sf.org/youngplaywrights
CONTACT: Dylan Russell, Education Coordinator; 415.992.6677;
[email protected]; www.playground-sf.org
PlayGround - 2
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS:
Rocko Bauman (Playwright, Darling on the Nickel) is a senior at Berkeley High and cofounder
of the Elephant Club, dedicated to protecting elephants from the ivory trade. His previous
playwriting experience includes Bell, which was produced in Berkeley Rep’s 2014 Teen OneActs Festival. He was sound designer for Blast Razor: Viral Hero in the 2015 One-Acts.
Neil Binnie (Playwright, Man’s Work), a sophomore and avid writer at Miramonte High School
in Orinda, was introduced to playwriting through a public speaking class; and his performanceturned-short-story, The Soda Pop Bootlegger, won the 2014 Poul Anderson Writing Contest. A
Varsity swim team athlete, Neil also coaches Special Olympics swimmers.
Camilla Dwyer (Playwright, Home Front) is currently enrolled in the theatre program at Asawa
SOTA and, in addition to playwriting, enjoys world history and stand-up comedy. She would
like to thank her family, friends, and teachers for their continued support and PlayGround for the
opportunity to see one of her pieces on stage.
Rebecca Shalliker (Playwright, Different Pieces of Oppression) is a junior at Albany High School
who has spent her entire life thus far in the Bay Area. She wanted to combine aspects of her Jewish
background with discriminatory themes in her short play Different Pieces of Oppression.
ABOUT THE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS PROJECT:
High school students from the Bay Area nine counties were invited to submit original short
scripts inspired by the assigned topic, Herstory. The same topic was also assigned to
PlayGround’s professional writers pool members for the March 16 round of Monday Night
PlayGround in residence at Berkeley Rep.
“Through the Young Playwrights Project, PlayGround and Bay Area high schools partner to enable
young writers to find their own expressive voice through the creation, development, and
production of short plays,” stated PlayGround Artistic Director Jim Kleinmann. This year marks
the sixth year of the Bay Area-wide Young Playwrights Contest. “This is a tremendous
opportunity for creatively-inclined high school students to experiment with writing for theatre in
the ten minute theatre form. The finalists gain immeasurable confidence and accomplishment from
seeing their works staged by Bay Area theatre professionals, alongside the adult professional
playwrights at Best of PlayGround,” added PlayGround Education Coordinator Dylan Russell.
ABOUT PLAYGROUND:
PlayGround, the Bay Area’s leading playwright incubator, provides unique development
opportunities for the Bay Area’s best new playwrights, including the monthly Monday Night
PlayGround staged reading series, annual Best of PlayGround Festival, full-length play
commissions and support for the production of new plays by local playwrights through the New
Play Production Fund and, PlayGround’s newest initiative, the PlayGround Film Festival. To
date, PlayGround has supported more than 200 local playwrights in the development and staging
of over 700 original short plays and 55 new full-length plays, including more than a dozen that
have since premiered in the Bay Area. For more information, visit http://playground-sf.org.
For more information, visit http://playground-sf.org. For more information on the Young
Playwrights Project, visit http://playground-sf.org/youngplaywrights.
--30-Media Contact: Jim Kleinmann, Artistic Director
PlayGround, 268 Bush St. #2912, San Francisco, CA 94104-3503
Phone 415.992.6677 Fax 415.704.3177
Email: [email protected]