The fifth Annual Playwrights festival took place earlier this afternoon at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, where three students got to showcase their winning submissions.

The students showcasing their plays were chosen out of 47 other pieces of work, submitted into the festival, winning a scholarship and coaching from a playwright and screenwriter.

“It’s about someone’s story. That is heartwarming and something that we need to maybe educate an audience about or just laugh, you know.” says David Youse the Executive Director, for the Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival.

Each play showcases a story, whether it’s satirical, personal, or 100% fiction.

Like George Sandoval who’s play tells the story of his journey with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

“This play was very personal to me, I wrote it in like, two hours, but it’s very personal to me because I have DID. I really wanted to get that story across and be a little informative towards the audience just to learn a little bit more about it.” says George Sandoval, a festival winner.

Or Xuan-anh, whose play about a giant moth with dreams of acting, displays a different message.

“I wrote this play because I wanted to write something kind of fantastical, there was also a tiny bit of commentary on the beauty standards of acting and entertainment in general.”

Most of these students hope to pursue playwriting, and working with experienced screenwriters and actors during this process is just a step in the right direction.

“Being up here, has also showed me that I want to be that for other kids when I’m older, like giving them an opportunity to have their voice.” says Arlo Topete, another festival winner.

For some, submitting their work into this festival is what originally got them into writing.

“I’m so incredibly thankful for this opportunity, because it was kind of my start of how I got into play writing. I wrote a play and I submitted it here and I saw how happy I was to see other people reading my work, and that kind of started it all for me, so I really have this festival to thank for, you know, wanting to go into screenwriting.” says Xuan-anh.

The three winners received a 500 dollar scholarship and coaching from a playwright and screenwriter, all to help continue their careers in writing.

Fifth Annual Young Playwrights Festival