Winning
Playwrights
NORTH ALLEGHENY’S ELLEN POPLAVSKA AND MAEREN QUIRKE AMONG
WINNERS OF CITY THEATRE’S ANNUAL EQT YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS CONTEST.
From L to R: Polina Soldatova, Mackenzie Miller, Ellen Poplavska,
Amelia Staresinic, Kristen Link, Katie Trupiano
BY NICOLE TAFE
T
wo young playwrights from North Allegheny saw their
artistic visions come to life as winners of City Theatre’s
annual EQT Young Playwrights Contest.
Maeren Quirke received a professional production
of her original one-act play and Ellen Poplavska received a
performance reading of her original work during the EQT Young
Playwrights Festival Oct. 16-27 in the Lester Hamburg Studio at
City Theatre.
Currently in its 19th season, The EQT Young Playwrights
Contest and Festival is a cornerstone of City Theatre’s education
initiatives, introducing students to the new play process and
celebrating the creative and vibrant young voices of our region.
The contest is open to any student in 7th through 12th grades
Maeren with two of her actresses after a performance.
From L to R: Alex Manalo, Maeren Quirke, Julia De Avilez Rocha
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throughout western PA or northern WV. This year, City
Theatre received nearly 400 original one-act submissions from
classrooms and individuals, which were reviewed by a literary
panel of 45 readers nationwide. Over several months, each finalist
worked alongside a professional dramaturg to revise and develop
his or her scripts for production.
Ellen Poplavska is a senior at North Allegheny Senior High
School. She is very active in the community, volunteering at the
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and the Shaler North
Hills Library, while assisting with the Hampton Dolphins swim
team. At school, she’s active in Key Club, the Junior Classical
League, Mock Trial and the Environmental Science Club. She
is co-president of the North Allegheny DECA chapter and
an executive officer for PA DECA at the state level—VP of
Membership Development.
“I’ve always been a writer, but I started writing plays about a
year and a half ago,” says Poplavska. “I’d been feeling stuck with
other types of writing for a while. I’d written a novel and felt
really frustrated because I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. I
started writing plays and it’s a dream—I love it.”
Poplavska has written roughly 15 plays—some long, some
short. During the summer of 2017, she dedicated her time to
reading all of the most famous plays of every famous playwright
since Shakespeare. “I read dozens of plays and I learned the art
and developed my style,” she explains.
This year was Poplavska’s seventh year participating in the
Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Shakespeare Monologue and Scene
Contest. “I had heard about the young playwrights competition
for a few years through the NA gifted office (GOAL),” she says.
“I submitted two plays the previous year and was rejected with