Christina Bowley – LRHS News
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – Four plays written by LRHS students were selected for this year’s Theatre Odyssey Student Playwriting Festival. The festival will be held Friday January 17, 2014 at the David S. and Anne V. Howard Theatre at State College of Florida’s Bradenton campus.
Out of 17 submissions at the high school level of the festival, six plays were picked for the festival and four were from LRHS. The plays will be directed by local professionals and cast by local actors.
One will be chosen as overall best. The winning playwright will receive money, the annual festival trophy and will be submitted into the adult level of the festival.
This is the second year of the playwriting festival. Students submitted their plays in October to be chosen to preform at the festival.
The Mustangs participating in the festival include junior Brooke Farnsworth, who wrote “The Game of Life,” sophomore Jenna Greenfield, who penned “The Gate,” sophomore Tiffany Miller, who wrote “Suspect,” and senior Joseph Grosso, who wrote “Elevate my Life.”
This is Grosso’s second year competing in the festival. He said it took him two months to write the play, along with his one act, “Unknown Artist,” performed at LRHS’s recent cabaret night and at a local high school drama one-act competition.
Grosso’s describes “Elevate my Life” as a very human story.
“It’s a group of people that are stuck in an elevator and they learn about one another as they’re personalities start to emerge the longer they are together.”
LRHS drama teacher Roxanne Caravan said, “It is a great opportunity for students to understand the reality of play writing if they want to continue as a career.”