SANTA BARBARA — The Ensemble Theatre Company is now accepting applications for its fourth annual Young Playwrights’ Festival for aspiring writers aged 13 to 19.
The four month-long program provides young writers a safe and nurturing environment in which to learn the craft of playwriting. As part of the process, the participants develop a 10-minute play that is subsequently produced and staged with professional directors and actors for public audiences. The program will accept up to 20 students from Santa Barbara County and there is no cost to participate, according to a news release.
“Responsibility to the story is the thing,” ETC Education Director Brian McDonald said in a statement. “And the development of storytellers for the future of the American Theater may be one of the most valuable youth educational programs that Ensemble Theatre Company can offer the Santa Barbara community.”
The program will begin online with the hopes of having an in-person presentation on the stage of The New Vic, ETC’s state-of-art venue, in late May 2021.
The deadline to apply is Jan. 31. Applications may be found online at https://etcsb.org/education/young-playwrights-festival.
— Mitchell White