Write Here, Write Now!: Meet the Winning Student Playwrights

Each spring, high school students from around New England submit original, 10-minute plays to Trinity Rep’s Write Here! Write Now! playwriting competition. Each

Charlie Boucher:

I wish I had a more profound answer than hearing about it on Instagram, but I heard about it on Instagram. I have been writing for a while, but I am always hesitant to put my work out there. I figured submitting would just be a good “rip off the band-aid” moment for me and my writing. Philip Byrnes: I learned about it from my advanced theater arts class. I wanted to share this story with others. Tosin George: I believe I learned about Write Here! Write Now! through the Trinity Rep Instagram account which prompted me to go on the Trinity Rep website and learn more about it. I wanted to submit my play because I entered last year, and the feedback I received really helped me improve my playwriting skills. Also, the Write Here! Write Now! competition gave me the motivation to start working on and developing my play. BW: What was your inspiration when writing your plays? RB: “Wine mom humor” is very strange, because on the surface it’s very chipper but, to me, the jokes have always read as existential crises. Roko’s basilisk, a theory that was conceived on the Internet, is also existentially horrific, and I thought it was interesting that two vastly different kinds of content could a) have something in common and b) coexist on the Internet, so I tried to find a way to link them. (I think I should note that this character is in no way based on my actual mom, who is extremely cool.) PB: High school experience, my friends, and coming of age.

CB: Having to write something with a specific length was a good opportunity to develop and synthesize a lot of half-developed ideas in my head. I had a good amount of funny one-liners or turns of phrase, but no real plot. I was trying to connect those dots, but at that time things were happening in my life that forced me to think about my own future. I get overwhelmed at the idea of making decisions, which can make my attitude pretty pessimistic. So, I am trying to write something, but all these problems are on my mind. But, these are intangible problems, and I realized that something about the search for tangible solutions to intangible problems seemed funny. I started working with that, utilizing some other weird moments or ideas I had jotted down over time. So, this “morphing” ended up in a place that I liked, and from there I just had to rewrite a bit to be clear enough to make the piece make sense to people who are not me.

TG: My inspiration for writing my play was a multitude of things. We are living in a very strange, unprecedented, and important time not just in American history but also in human history. The intersection of the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests, and the racial revelations and reckonings

script is considered through a blind evaluation process by Trinity Rep staff and local writers, and every student receives feedback from multiple adjudicators, including specific notes around how to continue growing as a writer. Once the highest scoring plays are identified, a smaller roundtable of artists, writers, and educators discusses the merits of each play and advocates for their personal favorites. At the end of this thoughtful process, four plays are chosen as winners while another two to three are chosen as honorable mentions. While winning comes with the pride of being chosen from a large pool of talented writers, the process doesn’t end there. Dramaturgs at Trinity Rep work directly with the four winners for a few weeks to Tenth Anniversary Write Here! Write Now! Celebrates Young Talent by Bradly Widenerstrengthen their plays even more. Finally, each play is assigned a director and professional actors, and in a whirlwind couple of days, the plays are rehearsed and brought to life for a staged reading. Because of the current constraints around in-person performances, this year’s plays were produced virtually as a part of Trinity Rep’s digital series The Writer’s Room on May 11. In addition, each playwright received a scholarship towards a Young Actors Studio after-school class at Trinity Rep and 20 free tickets to a Project Discovery student matinee for their school. While the competition was stiff, four submissions rose to the top this year: Purple by Ramona Boyd, The Lincoln School, Providence, RI; The Ally’s Burden by Tosin George, Cranston HS East, Cranston, RI; Fights by Charlie Boucher, La Salle Academy, Cranston, RI; and Anyways by Philip Byrnes, Dighton Rehoboth HS, Dighton, MA. Additionally, our honorable mentions were: In G-d’s Eyes by Samantha Brower, The Lincoln School, Providence, RI; Scratched by Bedros Kevorkian, Cranston HS East, Cranston, RI; and What I Do at Night by KK Eydenberg, Applewild School, Groton, MA. We were fortunate enough to speak with the winners this year to learn a bit more about who these four upcoming young playwrights are and what drives them to write.

Bradly Widener: How did you all learn about Write Here! Write Now! and what made you want to submit your plays?

Ramona Boyd: A teacher at my school, Ms. D-O, whom I adore, asked me if I wanted to enter.

that came with it were something that affected me tremendously. I felt like if I did not write something that is relevant and representative of this really weird time we are living in, I would have wasted a unique opportunity. I was not really sure how to voice all of the emotions I was feeling but I knew I needed to channel them into something, so I decided to write a play about it!

BW: How old were you when you started writing for fun, and what drew you to playwriting?

RB: I was about six years old! I’ve always been interested in film and writing screenplays, and eventually I realized that some stories are better told as plays.

PB: I started writing plays when I started high school. I like to tell stories that I enjoy and need to be told.

CB: I think I was nine or ten when I started writing for fun. My first experience with theater was being able to see some local plays as a young kid, and I was immediately fascinated. I started reading a lot about theater, and then I started acting. When I started writing, they were just short stories about superheroes or sci-fi, but even then my favorite part was getting characters to talk to each other. I eventually realized playwriting was the medium I understood most.

TG: I was 13 when I started writing for fun. In eighth grade, I took a short story writing elective class, and every time we had an assignment I couldn’t stop writing and sometimes my short stories ended up being 20-30 pages. That was when I knew that writing was something I really enjoyed. A lot of things drew me to playwriting, though. I started doing theater when I was nine and as I grew older I didn’t really like how the roles that I could play were limited by the expectations of what a given character should “look like.” The thing about playwriting is, you get to make the rules, you get to decide who the characters are and what the story is. You get to tell the story that no one has told yet. You get to push a narrative further and start conversations. I truly believe that there is power in art and storytelling and using art to tell important messages and stories is incredibly important.

BW: What other activities do you like to do for fun?

RB: I like to read, write, illustrate, take photos, and spend time with family, friends, and my one-eyed cat, Elvis. I am also learning to read tarot!

PB: I like spending time with friends and family, I enjoy nature, I like cooking vegetarian dishes and baking, and traveling.

CB: I am really into film and tv I do a lot of reading and watching, but I have also been working on some screenplays.

TG: I like singing, dancing, and acting. I also love cooking, baking, and watching tv.

Please enjoy these excerpts from each young playwright’s winning play that exemplify their tremendous work:

Purple by Ramona Boyd

A pair of eyes are lowered to the center of the stage. The sockets are made of wood and the irises are made of foil. The floor that had been obscured by darkness before is now revealed to have a computer keyboard painted on it. There is a strip of LED lights at the front of the stage. They are white with translucent blue gels. They turn the foil irises blue. The texture of the tin foil creates glares that look like lightning. The sound of a clicking mouse and occasional tapping of keys is played over a loudspeaker.

WOMAN’S VOICE, PRESUMABLY A NEWSCASTER ON THE MORNING NEWS VIDEO PURPLE IS WATCHING: Have you ever heard of Roko’s Basilisk? If not, now’s your chance to keep it that way! Run for your life! Ha-ha, ha! MAN’S DISEMBODIED VOICE: Ha-ha-ha! Right. Some pretty uh terrifying stuff, LindaAs LINDA and THE MAN are conversing, the white LEDS are occasionally flashing and slightly changing color, from pale orange to pink to green to blue, as

well as turning on and off. LINDA: (interjecting) Well, you see, why I said that is because Roko’s Basilisk is an absolutely horrifying thought experiment which relies entirely on your awareness of it to pose a threat, so like I said, change the channel while you can! Or if you’re watching this on a computer, switch tabs, go watch a cat video. Ha-ha! MALE NEWSCASTER: Ohh-p, so we’re both toast, Linda! LINDA: Yup, the thought experiment was dreamed up by a user on the websi— (A mouse clicks in the middle of her sentence.) MALE NEWSCASTER (in middle of a different sentence): — idea that the world we live in was created and is supervised by very sophisticated AI whose sole objective is to make the world a better place. Now, according to theorists, the issue is that this AI will go to any lengths possible in their, um, journey to make the world a better place, and that includes torturing any humans who have the means to give them reigns to the universe but neglect to do so. The Ally’s Burden by Tosin George

SHAYLA: (taking her face mask off) How’ve you been? It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever. KATE: I know! I’ve been pretty good, just trying to keep productive and busy during quarantine you know. How about you? SHAYLA: I’ve been pretty good, I’ve been taking some online classes and doing some internships. KATE: (intrigued) Oh, what kind of internships have you done? SHAYLA: (thinking) Oh the last one I did was with this coalition for supporting and providing access to capital for (beat) black-owned businesses. KATE: (face fills with excitement) Oh! (She takes off jacket to reveal she is wearing a black t-shirt with “BLM” written across it. Excitedly) This shirt is from a black-owned business. SHAYLA: (looks at Kate unimpressed) Oh. Cool. (Waiter comes and gives the two their drinks. Waiter exits.) KATE: (looks disappointed) You know, I bought it over the summer… while I was marching in the streets. SHAYLA: (looking a bit uncomfortable) Right. (beat) KATE: (persistent) I just really wanted to show solidarity… y’know use my privilege the right way. (Shayla shifts her weight.) KATE: (persisting; not taking the hint) I just can’t believe the struggle your people go through y’know? SHAYLA: (unimpressed and a little bit offended) Mhm. KATE: I mean when I saw that video of George Lloyd— SHAYLA: (correcting her) Floyd KATE: (nervously laughing) Sorry, Floyd, something just… awakened inside me. SHAYLA: Mhm. KATE: I mean in 2021 racism still exists! Who would’ve thought? Fights by Charlie Boucher JAMES: A wolf? ARTHUR: Yeah JAMES: A wolf!? ARTHUR: Big time JAMES: We can’t be thinking of the same thing, cause I’m thinking of, you know, a wolf. ARTHUR: No, it’s not a big, full wolf, it’s a...a child wolf RYAN: You have to carry around a “child wolf” with you for a week? Like, that crate, in your car, has a “child wolf” in it? ARTHUR: Yes, yes it does. Dr. Golfi says reconnecting with animals this way releases the primal instincts in you. JAMES: Dr. Golfi? ARTHUR: He’s the leader of the program. RYAN: Ah yes, the program, “FightARTHUR: (pulling brochure out of his pocket) “Fight for Your Right to Fight”,

don’t roll your eyes at me, this is cutting edge stuff. It is the eight-week eight-step program to battle your demons and reconnect with your true warrior roots. JAMES: Of course, of course, and where does our wolf cub factor into the equation? ARTHUR: Step one, obviously. Seeing the animal world is the first step in tearing down your emotional walls, so that they can be built back up stronger. RYAN: How big is this thing? ARTHUR: I don’t know, the size of a small wolf. It’s— JAMES: The goal is to build more emotional walls? ARTHUR: Dr. Golfi said emotional walls allow the emotions to be safe from the outside world. JAMES: That makes zero sense. ARTHUR: It’s not...it isn’t about understanding emotion— RYAN: —pretty sure that’s the goal of having emotions— ARTHUR: it isn’t about understanding emotions, no it isn’t. But guys, I didn’t call you here to talk about the wolf. JAMES: You really should have, this thing’s been around for 48 hours and it’s already the most interesting thing about you. Anyways by Philip Byrnes SAM: (confronting in a whispering tone) What are you doing here? NATHAN: (beat) Prom-posing? SAM: Yeah I can see that. But I thought we had a plan? NATHAN: Yeah, I know, but I thought it would be cuter to surprise you at your house. SAM: (freaking out, to herself) I can’t believe this is happening. NATHAN: If you really want me to do it at school I can? Just what I wrote on the back. I didn’t know if you wanted the attention… You know… SAM: (frozen) What did you write on the back? (Mom walks in with camera) MOM: (interrupting) Oh so cute. Okay get together for a picture. (Both pose for a picture) MOM: Okay on the count of three. One, Two, Three. (Takes photo in selfie mode by accident) Ooops that was a picture of me. Okay one more (takes photo) lovely. NATHAN: Ms. Garcia, Where should I put the cupcakes? MOM: (excited) Ooo I’ll take those. (grabs cupcakes) What flavor are they? NATHAN: Funfetti. SAM: (panics to herself) Oh no. MOM: Yummy. (looking at them) I love the little rainbows. So cute. NATHAN: (excited) Thank you. Yeah. They go along with the prom-posal. MOM: (intrigued) (beat) You know I never had a prom-posal. (gesturing to

Nathan to ask her) So I’m very excited to finally see one. NATHAN: (taking the hint) Well okay! (hands Sam the colorful balloons) Sam, Prom is in a couple weeks. SAM: (Trying to avoid the topic) Maybe we should eat the cupcakes. MOM: Sam don’t interrupt. NATHAN: (continues) So yeah, Prom is in a couple weeks. (Nathan flips over the sign that has the word “prom?” On the other side it says, “You’re gay,

I’m gay, Prom Anyways?”) (Nathan is smiling) (Sam is frozen in shock.) MOM: (beat) I don’t have my glasses. What does that say? NATHAN: (smiling) Oh it says “You’re Gay, I’m Gay, Prom Anyways.” (beat)(Sam is frozen)(silence).

To read more about Write Here! Write Now! and watch the play readings, visit trinityrep.com/whwn.