Seniors Amazin Spencer, Dean Webster and Anna Kuehner earned recognition in the Young Playwrights Festival sponsored by Syracuse Stage.
The students are in Todd Benware’s Creative Writing class, and they each entered a one-act play. Their submissions were among nearly 300 entries from students throughout Central New York.
Webster's play, which centered on one family trying to break the cycle of racial and familial conflicts, was selected as one of the top 16 plays submitted to the contest. He was invited to a workshop at Syracuse Stage where he heard a roundtable reading of his play and was given feedback from Syracuse Stage professionals and Syracuse University Theater Department members. He then revised and resubmitted his play for final selection. While he did not make the cut for a top eight play, his accomplishment is to be celebrated.
Kuehner and Spencer wrote plays that were selected as quarterfinalists. This group represents the top 25% of all submitted plays.
Kuehner’s play centered on the idea of family dynamics and the tremendous impact that losing someone to suicide can have on those left behind. Spencer’s play centered on what happens when two friends who share similar dreams end up in vastly different places.
