On Sunday, March 13 and Monday, March 14, 2016, the Curious Theatre and Colorado Academy hosted their 11th annual collaboration: Two evenings of 10-minute plays written by Upper School students and read by professional actors.

 

Directed by Dee Covington, Curious Theatre education outreach director and actor, and coordinated by Betsey Coleman, Upper School English teacher, the playwriting program provides the safety, encouragement, and challenges needed to turn young writers into confident playwrights.

 

This year’s plays showcased the talents of the following students: Mollie Cantor, Lila Arnold, Sophie Berger, Liam Caplan, Eliza Ducnuigeen, Sydney Turner, Kenneal Patterson, Emily Rockwell, William McCormick, Rebecca Popara, Ady Richards, Trinity Goderstad, Sarah Masinter, Keenan Gluck, Paige Thomas, and Chloe Nosan.

 

Says senior Chloe Nosan, who started playwriting during her freshman year at Colorado Academy, “My first year, I was so nervous, I was so embarrassed about everything I wrote. I wouldn’t read it out loud.

 

But over the last few years, Dee (Covington) has just helped me grow so much as an artist and as a person.”

 

As part of the collaboration, each student wrote a “companion play,” or a short piece inspired by Curious Theatre mainstage production of Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue tells the story of a young man who returns from the war in Iraq a hero and a man. It explores his personal and familial history, as well as the meaning of heroism. Likewise, Chloe’s companion piece explored the themes of family and generations, all within a wedding setting.

 

Says Coleman, “This collaboration enables students to have their voices heard by a wider community.” It’s an experience for many students who participate in the program – past and present – that proves invaluable.

 

In fact, during last year’s 10th anniversary of the collaboration, many alums reflected on the program’s powerful impact. Says Anna Zumbahlen, CA ’10, “Working with Curious in high school … taught me to be confident in my craft and in myself.”

 

Since the program’s inception, many student-written plays have been recognized, published and performed by such festivals and organizations as the Scholastic Writing Awards; Columbia University’s Nomad Theater Group; the Nebraska International Thespian Festival; Theatre Communications Group’s annual nationwide gathering; The Princeton University Ten-Minute Play Contest; the Eugene O’Neill Theater Young Playwrights Festival; Stephen Sondheim’s Young Playwrights Inc. National Playwriting Competition; and Colorado Academy’s very own Basement Theatre.