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Hello YPF friends! 

Although the Young Playwrights Festival was unable to take the stage last spring, we still wanted to share the winning scripts with you. We decided to do table reads of the 2020 honorees and share those meetings with you. Please consider supporting the future of the afO educational programming by clicking the donate button. 

Click on a name to jump to their play

Luke Vance
Lucy Nichols
Alexis Crist
Allison Cwanek

Luke Vance, the playwright of Three Wishes, was the Division 4 Winner for YPF Season 12. Luke was a senior at the time he submitted his play. He has since graduated from New Tech Academy at Wayne High School. This was Luke’s first time submitting a script to YPF and his first win. Many thanks to Luke for sharing his script with us. 

Tomax Apfel, Stan

Tomax is a Masonry apprentice who enjoys many things ranging from drawing to voice acting. He has only recently become a part of all for One and played the role of Jimmy in episode 4 in the For Starters podcast “The Enchanted Castle.” While being up on stage may not be something that Tomax will ever hope to do, put a script in his hand as well as a mic in front of him and he’d be happy to read for hours.

Jadon Moore, Director & Genie
Jadon Moore (22) is a semi-retired theatre actor who has done various shows for afO and Fire and Light for several years. He has been in such shows as F&L’s Beauty and the Beast, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, and afO’s Wind in the Willows and A Mighty Fortress. He enjoys long walks on the beach and karaoke at his Uncle Bob’s house.

Tricia Marshall, Stage Manager
Tricia, all for One’s Director of Educational Programming, coordinates the Young Playwrights Festival. Although this is the first ZOOM production for YPF, Tricia has previously participated in a similar project as a table reader for Berg Originals. She portrayed Dr. Sawyer in FW Civic’s Miracle on 34th Street in 2019 and has directed plays for several local theatre organizations.

YPF interview with Lucy Nichols, playwright; YPF Season 12; Division 2 Winner

YPF: Hi Lucy! First of all congratulations on your winning script. Please tell us your age & grade.

LN:  I am a ten-year-old homeschooler in grade 4/5. Although I skipped kindergarten…I’m definitely not going to be doing Grade 6 work in the fall, so next year we can say I’m a solid grade 5.

YPF: This isn’t the first time you’ve submitted a script to YPF, is it?

LN:  “God’s Little Rat” is my third submission, and the second time I’ve won. My script “The Great Escape” was a runner-up four years ago.

YPF: Seems like you enjoy writing. What other ways do you enjoy spending your time?

LN:  I participate in a Classical Conversations community and this year earned the distinction of Memory Master for the first time. I take ballet, tap and jazz at Kinetic Revelation, where I’ve studied for five years. And I love playing with my brand new dog, Benjy.

YPF: Speaking of animals, how did you get the idea for your story of this Rat named Penny?

LN:  My play was based on the real-life experience of getting my first pets, a pair of fancy rats named Penelope and Cassandra, back in June of 2019. Penny did indeed escape on the very first day, and she was out of the cage for over a week. It was stressful for the whole family, and we tried a number of different methods to get her back.

YPF: What can you share about your writing process for this “true to life” tale?

LN:  I started with an outline, and completed a draft which my mom helped to edit and type. I enjoyed adding the humor of the dad who is less than enthusiastic about rats.

YPF: That’s one of my favorite aspects of the story, too. Is there anything else you would like to share about working on your story?

LN:  My mom encouraged me to finish while we visited family in Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving. In fact, I was sick with a fever and she pretty much dragged me into the bedroom to dictate one scene per day because mom knew I’d be sad not to finish what she called “a promising script.” She said I was a trooper!

YPF: I’m glad you had her support and that we get to experience your show! Thank you for sharing more about yourself and your play, Lucy.

We are pleased to present “God’s Little Rat” by Lucy Nichols.

Elise Estabrook, Lily Dupree
Elise, a homeschooled 7th grader, portrayed Mary in afO’s A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas and also played Mary in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. She has previously performed with Fire & Light and FWAHS Drama Camp. When she is not on stage, Elise enjoys playing basketball, baking, and making creative videos. Elise loves to prank her family on April Fool’s Day.

Dave Flapan, Liam Dupree
Dave first encountered the YPF gang at Taste of the Arts. He and both his daughters went on to audition and appear in several YPF shows. His acting credits include Runaways, Gertrude (a retelling of Hamlet from the Queen’s point of view), and The Laramie Project. His day job, as a technology teacher, enables him to “spread the tech gospel.”

Rachael Kuster, Dream Creature
Rachael is an 18 year old homeschooled senior, and is a part of a homeschool co-op called Classical Conversations. She loves theater and has been in various YPF plays for about 10 years now, along with several afO shows including A Prisoner of Joy, Wind in the Willows, Romeo and Juliet, and The Dreadful Journal of Phoebe Weems.

Tricia Marshall, Lydia Dupree & Director
Tricia, all for One’s Director of Educational Programming, coordinates the Young Playwrights Festival. Although this is the first ZOOM production for YPF, Tricia has previously participated in a similar project as a table reader for Berg Originals. She portrayed Dr. Sawyer in FW Civic’s Miracle on 34th Street in 2019 and has directed plays for several local theatre organizations.

Lydia Scott, Assistant Director & Stage Manager
Lydia is 21 and works at Keystone in Goshen Indiana as Quality Control. Having been in several YPF plays performed by all for One, this is her first time as assistant director. She says, “I have never done anything like this before, but it has been fun and I look forward to doing more.”

YPF interview with Alexis Crist, playwright; YPF Season 12; Division 3 Runner-Up

YPF: Hi Alexis! First of all congratulations on your success with this script. What is your age & grade? 

AC:  Hello! I am a 15, soon to be 16 year-old Sophomore. 

YPF: Have you submitted a script to YPF before?

AC:  No, this is the first time I have submitted any of my stories [to this contest]. 

YPF:  What are some of your hobbies? 

AC:  I like to play soccer, read, and create art like paintings or digital drawings. 

YPF: How did you get the idea for this script? 

AC:  I wanted to do something different that would be fun and interesting. There wasn’t a very big special passion behind the story, just an idea to have some mystery and some fun with writing. I mostly write for fun now, if I do at all. 

YPF: Can you tell us a little about your writing process? 

AC:  I definitely edited the story over and over again until I was happy with the result. I did a lot of the editing myself because I would reread parts and realize they didn’t sound right/make sense. 

YPF: Did anyone help you develop the story? 

AC:  I had some friends look over it to make sure it was an interesting story and my teacher at the time, Mrs. Littleford, had also looked over it at least once. 

YPF: Thank you for telling us about yourself and your play, Alexis. 

AC: Thank you for this opportunity. 

We are pleased to present “The Journey Through the Jungle” by Alexis Christ.

Johnathan Brumbaugh, Owen Mill
Johnathan has been involved in YPF/afO for about 5 years. His hobbies include acting, singing, firearms, and being active in politics. Currently he is a small business owner of an airsoft teching company, and field owner. His favorite color is dark blue and cats are his favorite type of animal.

Rachael Kuster, Charlotte Davis
Rachael is an 18 year old homeschooled senior, and is a part of a homeschool co-op called Classical Conversations. She loves theater and has been in various YPF plays for about 10 years now, along with several afO shows including A Prisoner of Joy, Wind in the Willows, Romeo and Juliet, and The Dreadful Journal of Phoebe Weems

Krissy Brumbaugh, Hannah Griffin
Krissy is 20 years old, but as a student she both wrote & performed for YPF. She was recruited for this cast by her brother, Johnathan. 

Tricia Marshall, Director & Stage Manager
Tricia, all for One’s Director of Educational Programming, coordinates the Young Playwrights Festival. Although this is the first ZOOM production for YPF, Tricia has previously participated in a similar project as a table reader for Berg Originals. She portrayed Dr. Sawyer in FW Civic’s Miracle on 34th Street in 2019 and has directed plays for several local theatre organizations. 

YPF interview with Allison Cwanek, playwright; YPF Season 12; Division 3 Winner 

YPF: Hi Allison! First of all congratulations on your win. Please tell us your age & grade. 

AC:  I am 15 years old and a homeschooled sophomore. 

YPF: How many times have you submitted a script to YPF?

AC: I have submitted 7 scripts to the Young Playwrights Festival. 

YPF: You are such a creative person. In what ways do you enjoy expressing yourself? 

AC: I love to dance, act, and just create stories in general even if it’s just one scene or an entire book. 

YPF: Tell us about how you got the idea for your story 

AC: The idea for ‘There is No Play’ originally came from a video game called ‘There is No Game’ at least that’s where the name came from. The rest of the story came from observing my sister and then also memories of past plays and shows I got to be a part of. 

YPF: What can you share about your writing process? 

AC: This story went through like twelve different rewrites before I got the plot nailed down and even then I wrote a good amount of it out on paper and then in the process of typing it to submit, it changed a lot. 

YPF: Did anyone help you develop the story? 

AC: My sister, Torilinn, who is playing the main character, actually inspired the main character. I can’t tell you how often I bugged her about what she thought of a piece of dialogue. My mom also helped me keep my head on straight while typing because to be honest it got down to the wire there at the end to get the story finished and submitted before the deadline. So a big thanks to the both of them. 

YPF: Thank you Allison. 

We are pleased to present “There is No Play” by Allison Cwanek.

Torillin Cwanek, Alex the actress 
A senior, Torillin has homeschooled since second grade. She’s acted in the Young Playwright’s Festival before as well as participating in Fire & Light productions for 3 years in middle school and 1 in high school. “It’s been several years since I’ve been able to act in anything due to time and availability, so I’m excited to get to act in my sister’s play, even if it is in a different setting.”

Tomax Apfel, Jack 
Tomax is a Masonry apprentice who enjoys many things ranging from drawing to voice acting. He has only recently become a part of all for One and played the role of Jimmy in episode 4 in the For Starters podcast “The Enchanted Castle.” While being up on stage may not be something that Tomax will ever hope to do, put a script in his hand as well as a mic in front of him and he’d be happy to read for hours. 

Johnathan Brumbaugh, Bob the stage manager 
Johnathan has been involved in YPF/afO for about 5 years. His hobbies include acting, singing, firearms, and being active in politics. Currently he is a small business owner of an airsoft teching company, and field owner. His favorite color is dark blue and cats are his favorite type of animal.

Rachael Kuster, Crew Member #1 
Rachael is an 18 year old homeschooled senior, and is a part of a homeschool co-op called Classical Conversations. She loves theater and has been in various YPF plays for about 10 years now, along with several afO shows including A Prisoner of Joy, Wind in the Willows, Romeo and Juliet, and The Dreadful Journal of Phoebe Weems

Claire Weiss, Crew Member #2 
Claire, a past YPF honorable mention recipient has performed on stage in actUP shows for Albion Community Theatre. She then moved on to choreograph & assistant direct several youth shows.  Now a senior in high school, she is the founder and editor-in-chief of TypeWrite magazine which features student literary work. 

Tricia Marshall, director 
Tricia, all for One’s Director of Educational Programming, coordinates the Young Playwrights Festival. Although this is the first ZOOM production for YPF, Tricia has previously participated in a similar project as a table reader for Berg Originals. She portrayed Dr. Sawyer in FW Civic’s Miracle on 34th Street in 2019 and has directed plays for several local theatre organizations.

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