Phillips’ Mill’s third annual Play with Words Student Playwriting Challenge is accepting submissions through midnight on January 12, 2025. Winners will be announced in late January, and winning plays will be presented at the location in New Hope, Pa., in a staged reading on March 1.

According to Fran Ferrone, who chairs the competition, one of last year’s winners, Saskia Cooper of The Pennington School, said that she “was nervous … that a joke wouldn’t land … but was really happy to see the actors having fun,” and plans to enter again this year.

She also quoted Abigail Wus of Pennsbury High School (Pa.), who thinks the pressure of juggling time between studies and her love of writing is worth it. “To anyone who has a notes app full of unfinished ideas and fragments of stories, I encourage you to write for Play With Words,” Wus said. “It provided me the motivation to try a new medium and helped me realize a new depth to writing that I will carry with me in the rest of my works.” 

Now a freshman at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Finn Anderson, a senior last year at Upper Dublin High School, said, “When writing your play, make sure you’re writing from a place of attention and passion. The best way to connect to the audience is to show them your own passion and knowledge and allow that to take form in dialogue on-stage.”

Play With Words director Fran Young, a 39-year veteran high school teacher of English, theater, and creative writing, said, “While most high school students express themselves through journaling, short stories, or poetry, many are reticent to try writing a play. I was astonished by the level of writing exhibited.”

For more information and the submission form,  visit phillipsmill.org/drama/play-with-words.