Young Playwrights Festival 2026 - Baltimore Center Stage
May 9, 2026

download the digital program


The Young Playwrights Festival (YPF)
is our longest-running learning program that encourages expression and creativity in students all across the state.This year we received so many wonderful play submissions from participants in our residencies, and many more from students across Maryland, and we’re beyond excited to present this year’s winners! This year’s YPF will be on May 9 at 12pm with a community-filled festival following the performance. 

This year’s theme is Hear the World, Heal the World: a hopeful imagination on the current world we live in, the many worlds we create, and the hope of a better future.

Come laugh, play, and experience the brilliant fun and voices of the Next Generation of Artists!

 

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Cast


Creative Team

Avery Lenca
playwright, "Overconsumption, Underconsumption"

Danely Estrada Pineda
playwright, "In Another Dimension"

Mingze Li
playwright "Next!"

Brooklynn Abela
playwright, "Poetically Speaking"

William Bisset
playwright, "God Gets An Urgent Call"

Duncan Baker-Scott
playwright, "The Pumpkin That Saved Riverwood"

Amaro Benston
playwright, "The Pumpkin That Saved Riverwood"

Theodore Lanahan
playwright, "The Pumpkin That Saved Riverwood"

Jaxon McGlone
playwright, "The Pumpkin That Saved Riverwood"

Kashifah Abbas
poet, "The Olive Branch"

Khalil Zion Aleong
poet, "As The World Watched"

Anonymous Student
poet, "Untitled Piece"

De’sherea Ward
poet, "Untitled"

Carolyn Buck
Teaching Artist

Allison Brown
Teaching Artist

Tarshai’ Peterson
Teaching Artist

JC Payne
Teaching Artist

Tracy “Symphony” Hall
Teaching Artist

Victor “Slangston Hughes” Rodgers
Teaching Artist

Susan Stroupe
Teaching Artist/Director

Andrew Williams
Director

Brian Marshall
Scenic Designer

Jessie Combest
Props Designer

Wil Crowther
Costume Designer

Jessica Anderson
Lighting Designer

Eric Denson
Sound Designer

Alexis E. Davis
Production Manager

Khalil White
Stage Manager

Dynia Goodwin
Assistant Stage Manager

Nigel Hatcher
Production Assistant

Kim Parson
Light Board Programmer & Operator

Keion Hocker
AV2

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association