Congratulations to Lily Bertucci, honored for a play she wrote in ACT’s Young Playwrights Program, which has spotlighted other local student writers before. Her family shares the news and photo:

Lily Bertucci, 8th grader at Madison Middle School, was awarded Honorable Mention for her play, “More Than a Knight,” written during the Young Playwrights Program (YPP) After-School Program at ACT Theater. Her play was selected by theater director and educator Meghan Arnette, to be performed on March 25th (this Friday) at TOPS K-8 Middle School.

Here’s what Lily has to say: “The YPP program was a great experience for me. I learned about what goes into writing a play, what a play is as a form of writing, and how to express my character’s feelings and personality through dialogue. I would recommend the YPP program to anyone, even if you have never done playwriting before. The program helped me step out of my comfort zone. It was a chance to work with a great instructor, K. Brian Neel, meet new people, and improve my writing. One of my favorite parts was being able to hear my play being read out loud. I am happy to have been awarded Honorable Mention and to have Meghan Arnette select my play to be performed at the TOPS school. I am really looking forward to seeing the performance.”

Lily’s mom wants to get the word out that ACT offers their 10-week after-school playwriting class in Seattle at the ACT theater: “YPP at ACT is an outstanding opportunity for kids who are interested in playwriting but do not have the YPP integrated into their school’s curriculum.”

According to the ACT website, the afterschool program starts up again in September.