Student playwrights in grades K-12 throughout the state of Maryland have submitted their plays to CENTERSTAGE’s 27th annual Young Playwrights Festival. The plays that will be honored this year with workshops, in-school performances, and performances at CENTERSTAGE are below:

Staged Honorees

Phoebe Taylor
Brightly and Jade
Grade 1, Roland Park Country School, Baltimore City
New friends Brightly the Star and Jade the Moon take on a villain of astronomical proportions to rescue their loved ones in this story of friendship and bravery.  

Evan Schmidt
The Socks
Grade 3, City Neighbors Charter School, Baltimore City
When 100-million-year-old Bob mistakes his Good Sock for his Bad Sock, he finds himself unable to trust any of his socks. He heads to the store to buy a new pair—but with a technology glitch and without exact change, his daily task becomes a mighty quest.

Shamerra McCoy
The Reflection
Grade 7, Sisters Academy of Baltimore, Baltimore City
To escape from her over-worked mother and her teasing brother, Aniesze hides away in her tree house, where she finds comfort, support, and guidance from a mirror bearing the reflection of someone she loves.

Aidan Healey
Sandwich of Knowledge
Grade 8, Bohemia Manor Middle School, Cecil County
Tune in to the highest-rated game show on TV to watch three competitors vie for the chance to eat the most delicious sandwich in the world, one that will grant its eater infinite wisdom and the ability to see all the truths of the world.

Laurel Hill
Don’t Feed the Birds
Grade 11, Governor Thomas Johnson High School, Frederick County
When a precocious Girl Scout and a dejected businessman cross paths at a local park, an unlikely friendship full of provocation and surprising vulnerability takes hold.

Constance Green
Black Blues
Grade 11, City Neighbors High School, Baltimore City
Mae Belle, an aspiring dancer, and her boyfriend Sam, a printer for the Black Panther Party, juggle their relationship, their careers, and their family obligations in 1970s Chicago. 

In-School Readings Honorees

William Gaines
Good Nanny, Bad Nanny
Grade 5, Southwest Baltimore Charter School, Baltimore City
A serial nanny-imposter strikes again, nearly convincing Nick and Nickey that their loving and generous Good Nanny has gone bad. The Bad Nanny’s crime streak is broken when she messes with the wrong nanny. 

Elijah McDaniels
Fumble Kaluski Sucky Detective
Grade 5, Southwest Baltimore Charter School, Baltimore City
Detective Fumble Kaluski longs to escape the shadow of his famed father, Sherlock Holmes. With the help of his assistant Chickeroon (aka Watson, Jr.), Fumble’s big break might just be cracking the next murder case.  

Mitra Debkanya
The Geography Bee
Grade 5, Chevy Chase Elementary School, Montgomery County
School newspaper journalist Rachel chronicles the fierce competition at the school Geography Bee. While most student geographers have friends to scheme and study with, new girl Rosie works independently towards her goal of qualifying for the National Geography Bee. 

Lily DeBell
Thine Own Self
Grade 6, Garrison Forest School, Baltimore City
This poetic, behind-the-scenes look at a middle school’s production of Hamlet follows the compelling journeys of four young women as they struggle with fitting-in, family pressures, and fulfilling their dreams. 

Stella Kazibwe
Scarecrow Revolution
Grade 8, Harford Day School, Harford County
Suffering from poor work conditions and isolation from their families, Scarecrow Tim and his friend Scarecrow Ben decide to lead a revolution against the tyrannical farmers. As the violence escalates and both sides refuse to compromise, the situation takes a turn for the worse 

Emma Gromacki
The Society’s Pill
Grade 8, Harford Day School, Harford County
The peace established when the Great War ended 88 years ago remains intact until 15-year-old Verena and her friend Zeno decide to trade nutrition pills. When the Society gets wind of it, there are grave repercussions for them and their families. 

Megan Runge
More Clever
Grade 10, Catonsville High School, Baltimore County
When he makes a deal to pawn customers’ souls, kindly pawn shop owner and riddle enthusiast Arthur Bean becomes fearful that none of his customers—including his estranged wife Elmina—take the deal seriously, forcing Arthur to outsmart the Devil himself. 

The Playwright Project
The 410 LIFE
Grades 10, 11, 12, Baltimore Talent Development High School, Baltimore City
This collaborative collage integrates monologues, short stories, poetry, scene work, and visual mapping as it explores societal issues of life in Baltimore in 2012.

Special Thanks

My America/My Baltimore builds on the momentum of CENTERSTAGE's My America project. This past January, CENTERSTAGE asked the same question to students in grades K-12 throughout Maryland. In its first year, 433 monologues were submitted from 16 schools, including Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, The Bryn Mawr School, Dulaney High School, Eastern Technical High School, Empowerment Academy, The Academies at Frederick Douglass High School, George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Hammond High School, Home School, Hyattsville Middle School, Monarch Academy, Patterson Park Public Charter School, Roland Park Middle School, Roland Park Country School, St. Francis of Assisi, and Westside Youth Opportunity.

My America/My Baltimore is made possible through the generous support of The Annie E. Casey Foundation.