@dramatistsguild @schlueter_j

Madlab Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, is passionate about playwrights. As their website states, they are “an artistic haven for the creation and experience of original works.” Impressively, their entire eight-play season is constituted exclusively of new work. They also produce the popular and fast-paced Theatre Roulette, the longest running annual shorts festival in mid-Ohio.

In 2011, Madlab ensemble member Michelle Batt moved to extend the reach of the company’s mission to local teens by establishing the Young Writers Short Play Festival. She says, “We believe we need to provide teens with an opportunity to learn more about playwriting through the educational and production experience of developing and producing their work. Many schools have cut funding to creative writing and theatre programs and, as a part of the community, it is MadLab’s duty and responsibility to provide opportunities to students.”

In the past three years, Young Writers has fostered the work of thirty students from ten different public and private schools around Columbus. In their thoughtful and innovative program, Madlab does more than simply stage plays by young writers. They nurture them by matching each selected writer with a professional playwright mentor. These mentors support them as they undertake the never-easy revision process. Too, each student is guided through the presentation their work in two developmental staged readings. These readings both provide students with critical feedback on their plays and provides them with the skills for hearing and addressing feedback in ways that feel true to their artistic intent. And, crucially, only after this mentorship and development is each play is fully produced under the leadership of a professional director, with professional, age-appropriate actors.

It’s a truly magical program, and one that has inspired many participants to pursue creative writing or theatre on the college level. Some participants have even struck out on their own, moving directly into the profession, as Flannery Maney (2012 Young Writer) has done. But regardless of career path, each Young Writer has gotten a crucial first experience of professional staging of their work, and ultimately, of having their voice heard.

Young Writers continues to grow. Batt and her team have reached out to 40 local schools for the 2015 iteration. They have developed a partnership with The Thurber House, the renowned literary center located in James Thurber’s childhood residence. And the Dramatists Guild is proud to participate in the professionalization of the Young Writers by offering student memberships to selected students. In the next five years, Batt aims to create a next phase for her students, by building in an intensive workshop sequence as well as an apprenticeship program that focuses on the business of running a theatre focused on new works.

The 2015 Young Writers Short Play Festival is slated for July. For more information about Madlab, visit www.madlab.net.

jschlueter@dramatistsguild.com

Photo: (above) Clotheslines by William Lekan, at Madlab’s Young Writers. Directed by Michelle Batt. Left to right: Chad Hewitt and Lexy Weixel. Ms. Weixel has performed in all Young Writers’ festivals and was a playwright in the program in 2013. She’s currently pursuing a theatre degree at Butler University.