Young playwrights get staged readings at The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival

Kevin Mann, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·2 min read
Members of The Palm Springs Young Playwrights' Festival work on refining their plays into presentation form.
Members of The Palm Springs Young Playwrights' Festival work on refining their plays into presentation form.

The Palm Springs Young Playwrights' Festival is back. This year's festival will not only see 2022's winner, "Main Character" by 15-year-old Brooklyn Rutledge of Paloma Valley High School in Menifee, performed, but also three plays that had to be canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19.

The festival takes place June 12 at the Palm Springs Cultural Arts center beginning at noon Tickets are free, but must be reserved at brownpapertickets.com/event/5418940

The Palm Springs Young Playwrights' Festival promotes and encourages theatrical creative writing for all elementary, middle, and high school students in Riverside County. The staged readings will be performed by professional actors who will be joined on stage by local students.

PSYPF partnered with The Riverside County Office of Education to expand its outreach to young playwrights to include not just the Coachella Valley, but all of Riverside County.

Directing this year's winners are film/tv actor and director Deborah Harmon; Executive Producer at Discovery Network Keith Hoffman; actor/director and former Artistic Director of Coyote StageWorks Chuck Yates; and Marni Raab, known for playing the role of "Christine" in Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera.”

Several actors — including Mark Espinoza of the original “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Joyce Bulifant of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” multiple Desert Theatre League award winner Yo Younger, recent Dezart Performs performer Desiree Clarke,  David Kaufman of "Danny Phantom," and Loretta Fox of "Going the Distance" — will be joined on stage by local actors from Palm Springs High School including: Danielle Blunt, Grace Hernandez, Mia Lascano, Duncan McVeigh, and Hellena Soto.

In addition to "Main Character," audiences will be introduced to "Brotherly Love," written by 13-year-old Jadelynn Okialda-Simmons from Hans Christensen Middle School in Menifee, "Trapped," written by 17-year-old Cal Vaughan from Palm Springs High School and " Gotcha," written by 17-year-old Yamani Scoggins from Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. 

Xuan-Anh Ly Biggs, current Alumni Advisory Board member and previous 2020 winner, will co-host this year’s festival along with Executive Director David Youse.

If you go

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: The Palm Springs Young Playwrights' festival presents 2022 showcase