The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center is welcoming 21 student playwrights to campus for its 19th annual Young Playwrights Festival from Friday through Sunday, with public staged readings on Sunday.

The festival draws on the techniques of the O’Neill’s renowned National Playwrights Conference to provide local middle and high school students with professional-level support to develop their original one-act plays. Each year, five Featured Playwrights spend a week working with a creative team — including a director, dramaturg, and actors — that helps bring their plays to life.

The festival concludes with a staged reading of the students’ plays at 5 p.m. Sunday in the O’Neill’s Dina Merrill Theater. Seating is general admission, and tickets for the performance can be reserved online at bit.ly/ypf24 for free or pay-what-you-can. Funds received from ticket purchases help support the O’Neill’s year-round artistic and educational initiatives.

“This year's selection of five plays run the gamut of realism to absurdism; entailing ethical dilemmas, anthropomorphism, alternate universes, and friendships put to the test,” said Sophia Chapadjiev, the Young Playwrights Festival artistic director and director of education.

This year’s Featured Playwrights are:

Abigail Eggers – “Grieving,” Clark Lane Middle School, Waterford

Natalie Hambidge – “Words for Worse,” Groton Middle School

Keira O’Donnell – “Timebound,” Old Saybrook Middle School

Emily Roy – “One Step Away from the Top of the Mountain,” Three Rivers Middle College Magnet High School, Waterford

Savannah Savas – “A Crazy Cat Lady and Her Big Red Scarf,” Brooklyn Prospect Charter High School, Brooklyn, NY

Additionally, 16 Guest Playwrights have been invited to spend the weekend observing the development process and hearing their own plays read aloud.