A month may seem like an eternity to your children and writing an original 10-minute play may seem like a breeze. That doesn’t mean that all Adirondack Park middle and high school students can’t start working and perfecting their winning entries for the annual Pendragon Theatre Young Playwright Festival.

Both of my children have submitted plays for Pendragon Theatre’s annual Young Playwright Festival. We hold strong to the philosophy of you “win some and you lose some,” but it never hurts to try. Participating took them out of their comfort zone as neither child had ever considered being a playwright.

Pendragon Theatre’s Young Playwright Festival is a free playwright contest for middle and high school students residing in the Adirondack Park. All submissions for this year’s theme of “Insider/Outsider” must follow the assigned format of a one-act, 10-minute musical or play.

Contestants for the Pendragon Theatre’s Young Playwright Festival are required to submit no more than 10 pages of dialog with a maximum of four characters. People can work in teams as long as everyone involved fits the age requirements. Each script page must follow the U.S. Stage Format by Matt Carliss located on the Pendragon website. Printed and email submissions are accepted.

Festival winners work with a creative team of a director, designer and actors to develop and stage the winning scripts. All the rules and regulations are on the Pendragon Theatre website at pendragontheatre.org or call 518-891-1854 with any questions. All entries must be submitted or postmarked by the March 3rd deadline.

You also don’t have to write your own play to attend a live performance at Pendragon Theatre. Check their schedule for live music, live theatre, acting classes and art shows. Pendragon Theatre is the only professional year-round theater located within the Blue Line and we are so grateful that such a talented group has Saranac Lake as its home.

Pendragon will host a free public performance of each winning play as well as public readings of the runners-up during its Young Playwright Festival April 25 at 2 p.m. If your children are at all like mine, they have strong opinions on everything. Writing a one-act play and having it performed may be just the way for them to find a new audience for their words. Good luck!

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Diane Chase is the author of the Adirondack Family ActivitiesTM guidebook series, Adirondack Family Time. For more family fun go to AdirondackFamilyTime.com.