Student Plays Address Gun Violence, Suicide and Divorce

Pictured: Students (from left) Liev Shpitalnik, Amelie Parczany, Dorian Hayes, (seated) Bella Rarick Photo Credit: Lee Hayes

Artful Living Empowers Youth to Address Gun Violence, Suicide and Divorce

Playwrights for Tomorrow
Original plays by Connecticut High School students
presented at The Kate

Three student-written plays were chosen by a panel of CT theater professionals to be stage-read at The Kate on April 29th at 4 pm. Artful Living, a Community Theater dedicated to building intergenerational community offered CT students statewide the opportunity to write original plays, which if chosen, would bestow an educational scholarship award to the authors and be produced with local actors at The Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center.

This brand new project, Playwrights for Tomorrow, has a mission to provide Connecticut youth with an opportunity for artistic expression through stage- reading and producing their original short plays and empowering their art through validation and scholarship awards. Producer, Chris Solimene explains, “We wanted to give youth the opportunity to give voice to what really matters to them through the validating venue of artistic expression. It’s no surprise that what rises as most pressing in the psyches of students is the reflection of the shadow side of their culture; school gun violence, depression that could lead to suicide and the lack of familial security as result of divorce.”

The student playwrights, chosen from Greater Hartford Academy of Arts, Torrington HS and Montville HS have been dedicated to collaborating with directors on staging their plays. Local actors are mostly veterans to local CT shoreline productions. However, the parts of youth in these plays are read by students from school districts ranging from Haddam-Killingworth to Valley Regional to Branford. The panel of judges included Goodspeed Opera House’s - Lori Cartwright, Hartt School’s - John Pike, Founder of Guilford HS Theatre Art - Pat Souney, past adjudicator for Connecticut Drama Association – Maggie Jennings and Artistic Director/Founder of Artful Living - Chris Solimene.

Lend your support and empower CT youth to pursue artistic expression and give voice to relevant issues for their tomorrows by attending on April 29. 4 pm.
Tickets $15.00.
www.katharinehepburntheater.org/events-tickets/ Box Office: 860-510-0453