ABOUT THE SERIES

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Presents 

Young Playwrights Festival Showcase 2022-2023  

March 26th – March 27th 7pm 2023  

Studio Theatre, Broadway Theatre Center  

  

   

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre announces its 2022-2023 biennial Young Playwrights Festival Showcase March 26th and March 27th, 2023. MCT is celebrating young local writers by showcasing three one-act plays from the winners of this year’s high school playwriting competition. This year's staged reading showcase will also feature three Honorable Mention plays. These readings will all directed and performed by up-and-coming local professionals. All six one-acts will be performed each evening during the showcase in the Broadway Theatre Center's Studio Theatre. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students, seniors and MCT subscribers. Free entry for Cream City Ticket holders.

 

MCT’s annual YPF Playwriting Competition welcomes entries from local student writers in grades 9-12 whether written in YPF Residencies or independently. Every other year, two consecutive sets of Top Ten plays enter a final round of competition to determine which MCT will feature in the YPF Showcase. A host of regional theater professionals, including actors, educators, directors, and playwrights, evaluate the Top Twenty for writing quality and staging potential. MCT staff reviews recommendations and selects the top six plays—three winners and three Honorable Mentions—for inclusion in the YPF Showcase, in which local emerging and established artists perform their work for the public. All winning playwrights are further mentored in any revisions and offered the opportunity to participate in the production process as the writer of a new work. 

 

The creative team are notable Milwaukee creatives Joshua “JP” Pohja (YPF artistic Producer and Director), Caroline Norton (Director) Adam Qutaishat (Director), Leo Madson (Director), Samantha Feiler (Stage Manager), and Devon Wiensch (Stage Manager).  

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2023 WINNERS

 

MOM

by Sam Brower

An adult son in grief tries to help a mother in denial over the depth of their loss.

Whitefish Bay High School

 

MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS

by Gabriella Hartlaub

A teen news team fights to save their show from cancellation. But who’s going to the dance?

Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School

Mentor teacher: Carrie Baker Jackson

 

TO BE DE(AD)CIDED

by Joy Figueroa

A reaper-in-training wants to dose out love and glitter, but you can’t always get what you want.

Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School

Mentor teacher: Carrie Baker Jackson

 

2023 HONORABLE MENTIONS

 

ALWAYS PERFECT

by Noor Hamed

A star student and athlete, the daughter of immigrants, contends with parental expectations.

Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School

Mentor teacher: Carrie Baker Jackson

 

THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS

by Zoe Smith

One of Artemis’ hunters has been lost. The new recruit harbors secrets.

Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School

Mentor teacher: Carrie Baker Jackson
 

ROCKET BABY

by Anna Nelson

A young woman’s dream to take over a Colorado bakery gets a boost from an unlikely source.

Divine Savior Holy Angels High School

Mentor teacher: Zachary Ziegler​
 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS 

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Joshua Pohja - YPF Artistic Producer and Director (he/him/jp) is a theater creator and educator from Los Angeles, California. JP has had a multi-faceted career working in all genres of storytelling. He most recently directed Vanguard Productions staged reading of All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 at The Interchange Theater. At Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, JP directed 1-800-123-BOYS in the 2018 Young Playwrights Festival and assistant directed Molly Rhode for Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s acclaimed production of Great Expectations. He has directed Skin of Our Teeth, Blue Stockings, Much Ado About Nothing and Antigone for First Stage, The Laramie Project, No Child, Much Ado About Nothing, She Kills Monsters and Golden Child at Pius XI. Pohja has performed nationally/off-Broadway with, most notably, The Acting Company, Old Globe, The Alley, and Guthrie Theater. However, it was theater creator Anne Bogart who pushed JP to be a director where he feels most creatively useful and challenged. TRAINING: Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, BFA Acting, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Saratoga International Theatre Institute (SITI) at Skidmore College under the guidance of Anne Bogart and the SITI Company.  

 

Caroline Norton - Director (she/her) Caroline is an actor, director, and theatre educator based right here in Milwaukee. Caroline recently made her directorial debut with Gidion's Knot at Sunstone Studios. She was last seen at MCT in White Privilege for the Milwaukee Black Theatre Festival in 2021. Additionally, Caroline has performed with Voices Found Repertory, Sunstone Studios, and Summit Players Theatre where she also serves as Director of Education. When she is not working on a show, Caroline spends her time reading and running her small business Millennial Granny. Caroline would like to thank you all for coming out to see these incredible artists, and for supporting live theatre. 

 

Leo Madson - Director (he/him) is endlessly grateful to be sharing his directorial debut with Chamber Theater. His work includes A Christmas Carol (Teen Scrooge) with Milwaukee Rep; The Hobbit (Bilbo Baggins), Escape from Peligro Island (Calloway Brown), Macbeth (Malcolm), The Laramie Project (Dennis Shepherd/Narrator) with First Stage; and training with First Stage including both the Young Company and eleven years of summer academy training. Leo is the Artistic Director of Prism Youth Theater Company, an informal theater group that places young people in leadership positions. He enjoys whistling, playing musical spoons, and laughing with his four siblings. Many, many thanks to his incredible and supportive mother, Stacy. 

 

Adam Qutaishat - Director (any/all) is a multiracial theatre artist based in Milwaukee. As a director, Adam directing highlights include All in Productions, Music Theatre of Madison, The American Gothic Performing Arts Festival, Third Avenue Playhouse, and Schmitz & Giggles. Acting highlights include work with The Milwaukee Rep, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, The House Theatre of Chicago, Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, and Theo Ubique. Adam also serves as Associate Artistic Director for Music Theatre of Madison, Artistic Associate for All In Productions, and as the founder and creator of Button Podcasts, an audio fiction podcast company. Learn more at www.adamqutaishat.com 

AUDITION INFORMATION  

Auditions will be held in person on Monday, March 13th and Tuesday March 14th, 2023, from 6:00-9:00 PM at the Broadway Theatre Center, 5th floor, 158 N. Broadway, Third Ward, Milwaukee. Auditions are by appointment only; please reserve your audition slot here or contact YPF Artistic Producer Joshua Pohja at MCTYPF2023@gmail.com with any questions. 

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Auditions are open to all adult Milwaukee-based actors, and youth actors with an adult chaperone. We strongly encourage actors of any origin, gender identification, and age to apply. The in-person auditions will be held at Broadway Theatre Center (158 N Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202). Auditions (both in-person and virtual) should consist of one (1) one-minute contemporary monologue. Headshots/resumes are welcome but not required. 

We strongly encourage auditions from artists who self-identify as Black, White, Neurodivergent, Asian, Indigenous, Latino, or Multi-Ethnic and we encourage actors to indicate interest in any roles that fit their gender identity at auditions. Audition time slots are first-come, first-served.  

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TICKET INFORMATION  

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s Young Playwright’s Festival runs March 26-March 27, 7pm 2023, in The Studio Theatre located inside the Broadway Theatre Center. To purchase tickets, go to www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/tickets, call 414-291-7800, or visit the ticket office in person at 158 N. Broadway St. in the Historic Third Ward. More information about MCT, the 23/24 season, how to purchase tickets, and how to donate can be found at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org.  

  

COVID AND ATTENDEE EXPERIENCE  

YPF audience members are required to wear masks fully covering both nose and mouth only while inside the Studio Theatre itself. Since returning to in-person performances, MCT has cancelled zero shows due to COVID-19 infections amongst performers--help us protect the play and continue that streak! Due to our unique programming, exceptional multidisciplinary artists, and modest budgetary scale, MCT does not contract understudies. Our financial viability depends on our performers staying healthy through closing night. Masking within the intimate Studio Theatre allows the artists and MCT a safer and stronger future. Protocols are reassessed on a per-production basis.   

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AUDITIONS

MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE seeks 23 non-Equity actors for its biennial Young Playwrights Festival Showcase of professional staged readings to be presented March 26 and March 27th 2023 at 7pm at the Broadway Theatre Center, Milwaukee. 

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Auditions will be held on Monday, March 13th and Tuesday March 14th, 2023, from 6:00-9:00 PM at the Broadway Theatre Center, 5th floor, 158 N. Broadway, Third Ward, Milwaukee. Auditions are by appointment only; please reserve your audition slot or seek further information about virtual submissions from Joshua “JP” Pohja MCTYPF2023@gmail.com or 818.960.9227.

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Auditions are open to all adult Milwaukee-based actors, and youth actors with an adult chaperone. We strongly encourage actors of any origin, gender identification, and age to apply. The in-person auditions will be held at Broadway Theatre Center (158 N Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202). Auditions (both in-person and virtual) should consist of one (1) one-minute contemporary monologue. If auditioning in-person, sign-up below for a group time-slot. Slots are first-come, first-serve. Headshots/resumes are welcome but not required.

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We strongly encourage auditions from artists who self-identify as Black, White, Nuerodivergent, Asian, Indigenous, Latino or Multi-Ethnic and we encourage actors to indicate interest in any roles that fit their gender identity at auditions.

[Please note: Showcase actors must be available for both readings on March 26th and March 27th at 7pm. There will be one 3-hour rehearsal between March 15th and March 25th at the discretion of the director and availability of rehearsal space.]