Playwrights: Names
At: Chicago Cultural Center Studio Theater, 77 E. Randolph
Phone: ( 773 ) 878-9761; $12
Runs through: Jan. 30
Pegasus Players has been doing a noble thing the past 18 years: each of those years, they've worked with youth from Chicago high schools to create theater. A clarion call to aspiring writers across the city, the Young Playwright's Festival is a cycle of workshops, performances, and special programs, all having the goal of encouraging imagination and craft in theater. The cycle culminates in a citywide playwriting competition; winning entries are given a professional production ( plus a $350 prize ) .
This year, Pegasus' efforts garnered more than 600 entries. Winnowed down to four, the Young Playwrights' Festival is a lively look into the hearts and what's on the minds of some of Chicago's most gifted young people. As a veteran audience member and reviewer of several past festivals, I'm pleased to say that this year's offering demonstrates an astonishing level of maturity. Aside from being a great showcase for Chicago's very talented youth, the program boasts all the elements of great theater, no matter what the source: humor, poignancy, thought provocation, insight into the human condition, and memorability; in one case in particular, very disturbing memorability.
This year's presentation kicked off with Whitney Young High School student Imami Josey's 'Grace' which demonstrates what it means to be young and in love but not, perhaps, emotionally prepared for that particular emotion. Her story of Grace, an urban teenager and her misguided love for Q, a local 'bad boy,' shows us what's more important than adolescent love: the strength of family unity and wisdom. Nikhar Ahmed's ( Northside College Prep High School ) 'Waking Up' is a touching piece about a young girl afflicted with leukemia and the sacrifices her parents are prepared to make to ensure her survival ( particularly important because they have already lost one child ) . The piece shows great emotional depth and in the end, is really about coming to terms with loss, as the young girl makes peace with her departed brother. The most disturbing ( and well-plotted ) play of the evening is Schurz High School student Karina Hurtado's 'Shattered Reflections,' a potent and terrifying vision of a family torn apart by rape and infidelity. Ms. Hurtado demonstrates an amazing sense of drama with this work, which seems to be only a beginning. As shattering as it was, when it ended, I was left wanting more, completely involved in these well-crafted characters and their problems. The evening ends on a smart and funny note with Jose Requena's ( Whitney Young High School ) 'Bowdlerism' which brings us a hilarious vision of how outside forces ( agents, critics, the public ) impact the craft and art of writing.
The Young Playwrights Festival is worth seeing for a couple of reasons. First, by paying attention to the talents of these ambitious youths, you're showing your support for the future of art ( especially in Chicago ) . And second, you'll do yourself a favor by seeing these immensely entertaining scripts, professionally presented.