Palm Springs, CA
The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival announced that it has selected the cast that will perform the three winning plays as staged readings at the Fifth Annual festival which will take place at the Palm Springs Cultural Center on June 4, 2023 at 12 PM. Although tickets are free, RSVPs are required and may be reserved at psypf.org.
PSYPF promotes and encourages theatrical creative writing to all elementary, middle, and high school students within Riverside County. Each year it produces an annual festival that showcases selected works from students as staged readings using professional actors and directors. The three staged readings this year are:
MANAGE, written by George Sa ndoval ( of Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. In this play, a doctor tries to help a patient manage his Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple distinct personalities) looking to find the epicenter of why it
developed. But is the doctor correct This play will be directed by Chuck Yates, Founder and former Artistic Director of Coyote StageWorks, and will be performed by actors Stephen Full of the TV show “Dog with a Blog,” and Mark Espinoza of the original
“Beverly Hills, 90210” TV show.
ART, written by Arlo Topete ( of Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. ART is a story about one’s journey of finally being free. Through flashbacks, Art shares his life experiences and the people who shaped him, negatively or positively, on finally coming out as trans. The play will be directed by Jerome Elliot Moskowitz, Artistic Director of Desert Ensemble Theatre, and will be performed by Marvel A. Rex of the “Book of Queer” TV show.
LOVE’S LABOUR’S MOTHS!, written by Xuan Anh Ly Biggs ( of Riverside Polytechnic High School in Riverside. A second time winner, Xuan Anh previously won in 2021 for her play, THE HOMELESS RICH WOMAN AND THE PLAYWRIGHT. In this comedy, an actor’s love for theater shines through as he auditions and jumps through hurdles t o secure the role of Moth in a production of William Shakespeare’s LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST. Will it help if the actor is an actual Moth? This play will be directed by Darin Anthony, Artistic Director of Moving Arts in Los Angeles, and performed by Noah Harps ter, actor/producer on the TV show “ Joel Bryant, a Desert Theatre League multiple winner, Jenapher Zheng, the lead in a Geffen Playhouse/LA production of “Man of God,” Wendle Josepher, who appeared in the film TWISTER, and Elizabeth Reilly.
This year, PSYPF received a record 39 submissions. Each play was reviewed by a special committee that selected the 2023 winners, each on whom will receive a mentorship to enhance their playwriting skills, a staged reading public performance of their play, and a $500 scholarship to help further their career in the arts.
“We are elated to offer this exciting festival for the fifth year,” said David Youse, Executive Director of the Festival. “We were stunned by the record number of submissions this year and selected the three most outstanding plays to produce. We look forward to showcasing the amazing work of this year’s winners and congratulate all the students who crafted their plays and chose to participate in the festival this year.”
PSYPF is funded by Premier Sponsor Harold Matzner The Western Wind Foundation with Jeremy Hobbs, Gus Van Sant/Wendy Foundation, Jason Smith/Tom Valach, David Williams/Tim Holmes, Paul Reid/Thomas Hartnett, Mel and Dorothy Lefkowitz, Chuck Yates, Kimpton/R owan Hotel Palm Springs (Peggy Trott, General Manager), and the Riverside County Office of Education. The group promotes and encourages creative writing in the theatrical form open to all students in the elementary, middle, and high school level within Riverside County, California. The Festival provides a scholar ship to further education in the arts, mentorship, and a public reading to young playwrights of chosen plays. More information is available at psypf.com.
PSYPF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
To lend support or review the mission statement, visit http://www.psypf.org Follow them on IG: @psypf #psypf