Simley Student Playwright Wanted to Tell a Story to Relate

Caitlyn Jones, a junior, won a student playwriting contest at school and is one of three students who will see their play on stage in the One Act Festival debuting next week.

Last semester she was in a creative writing class where they were assigned to write plays as part of an assignment and then enter them in the contest. She entered, and won, "Dreams Within Leo."

She said she writes all the time – until something else makes her stop – and writing a story about becoming who a person wants to be rather than what someone else wants them to become was one "she had to tell."

Describe the plot of your play.
It was supposed to be a teenage problem everyone can relate to. It’s about a kid who can’t relate to his parents and he wants to find people who he likes and who like him back – not just because he is a prince. It’s an everyday problem everyone has.

What is the tone of the play?
My intention was for it to be serious with some comedy and a tad of romance but I’m hearing from directors and actors that it’s dubbed a romantic comedy now. I never thought if it that way, but that’s what I’m hearing.

What has it been like seeing your play go from an idea to a script to the stage?
It’s been really exciting to go from the start of the competition to hearing mine was chosen – I really wanted this. I was so excited, I couldn’t sit still for days. Then I heard one of my friends is in the play as an actress and another friend is directing it. So it’s exciting to know I’ve given them something, too. This is the first time a creative writing class has gotten to write plays that were going to be produced so it was so cool to be a part of that.

Was there any real-life inspiration for this story?
I know how much actors in Hollywood and royalty and people high up get bugged all the time by people and nothing seems normal for them but I imagine all they want is some normalcy sometimes and just want their own lives. The main character is a teenager and is bugged by his parents who also don’t understand him. I think everyone has that to some degree.

Why did you want to do this - write a play and enter it in a contest?
I don’t really know why but I guess I just felt compelled. People want to figure out who they are – I’ve been in that situation before and I wanted to tell a story people relate to.

Tell me the most difficult and the most rewarding aspects of being a playwright.
It’s been challenging to figure out which parts were unnecessary to the story when I was editing it and how to describe people in a certain way so the audience would understand who the characters are. I said one of the characters should have an accent – they had an Italian accent with an Irish last name and the queen needed to sound like royalty but also like a mother. Kio, the prince had to sound like a teenage prince.

It’s been rewarding because I get to see my idea as a play and she how people react to it. I like knowing my friends hare directing and acting in the play –that’s really rewarding knowing they also get to do something they love through this. I’m so excited to see it and how it all turned out.

What are you looking forward to the most?
I want to see and hear people laugh at the right parts and know they understood my humor. It’s going to be so fun to see the costumes and set and makeup and everything come together on opening night.

The Simley One Act Plays begin next week. In addition to Jones’ "Dreams Within Leo," the student plays are "A painting for Jake" by Adrain Ropal and by Summer Freed; the final one-act play is The Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekov.

Performances are: Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $8 for adults and $5 for students.