{"id":149556,"date":"2026-05-23T20:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T00:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=149556"},"modified":"2026-05-23T20:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T00:05:53","slug":"high-school-playwrights-are-showcased-at-new-plays-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=149556","title":{"rendered":"High School Playwrights are showcased at New Plays Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured Image: Photo of the student playwrights provided by The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Student-written works and student-led production design are showcased at Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts,\u00a0celebrating emerging voices in theater, storytelling and design.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

BETHLEHEM, PA\u2014-<\/strong>The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts (Charter Arts) Theatre Department and Production Arts Department present the 2026 New Plays Festival <\/em>(NPF) on Friday, May 29 at 7 PM.<\/p>\n

This annual festival is an artistic endeavor in the school\u2019s theatre curriculum featuring four plays written, directed, and performed by upperclassmen theatre students and designed by production arts students. The event brings together skills acquired in script writing, directing and acting classes as students fully take on the challenges of creating new works for the stage.<\/p>\n

This year’s selected plays are:<\/u><\/p>\n

BRAINS NOT INCLUDED by Savannah Springe<\/strong>r: It’s 1988 and a group of flighty teens have planned a girls\u2019 weekend at a cabin in the woods, but the party is crashed by more than one unexpected guest.<\/p>\n

THE FAMILY DINNER by Alexandria Hutton<\/strong>: When Grandma Bon Bon announces that she’s going to leave all her money to the one member of the family that impresses her the most, a family dinner devolves into a chaotic competition.<\/p>\n

DOMINOES by Tzariah Manns<\/strong>: Fiona cautions her friends not to open an old book with supernatural properties, but when Sam doesn’t listen, it sets off a series of unexplained disappearances.<\/p>\n

PIZZA MISSION by Amiere Gray<\/strong>: Try as he might, Mikey can’t beat his new video game, but with the help of his best friend, he gets his head out of the game just long enough to finally crack it.<\/p>\n

Charter Arts\u2019 Artistic Director of Theatre, Kelly Minnner- Bickert shares: \u201cThis year’s New Plays Festival promises a wide variety of content and characters. Our students have come up with clever, comical ways to find inspiration in the world around them and bring their ideas to life on stage. This is a collaboration we are incredibly proud of as our junior and senior theatre majors partner with the production arts majors to create an evening of new work that’s sure to be entertaining and unforgettable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets for the event are $8-$14 and are available online at CharterArts.org or at the door.<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE CHARTER ARTS THEATRE DEPARTMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Charter Arts Theatre Department offers a pre-professional training program for high school-aged performers. The goal is to provide students with the skills they will need to move on to competitive college programs as well as professional theatre experiences.<\/p>\n

Classes are designed to encourage students to create imaginative and compelling characters, to regard their voices and bodies as creative instruments, to expose them to theatrical literature and to instill in them a sense of respect and professionalism for the art form that will stay with them throughout their lives.<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE LEHIGH VALLEY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS (Charter Arts):<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charter Arts is an audition-based public charter high school, funded by Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars, designed for students who have a dedicated passion for the creative or performing arts. With seven artistic majors that include Dance, Instrumental Music, Literary Arts, Production Arts, Theatre, Visual Arts & Vocal Music, and a rigorous academic curriculum, students thrive both artistically and academically at a nationally recognized, award-winning school. The school is currently ranked:<\/p>\n