Playwriting Contest Winners | 10 - 20 Minutes
As part of our Playwriting Contest, Mosaic sat down with the winners to get to know them each a little better. Learn more about these up-and-coming theater artists from around the DC area and register for the Live-Streamed Playreading Event on February 26th, 2021.
ANTHONY MCDONALD (HE/HIM) | ALWAYS MY CLOSEST FRIEND | IG: @LMAOXANTONIO, TWITTER: LMAOXANTONIO
Anthony: My name is Anthony McDonald. I’m in the 11th grade and about to be a senior.
Mosaic: It’s great to meet you, how would you describe the play you wrote for this contest?
Anthony: Basically, there’s this girl and she befriends this new guy named Tomas and he instantly falls in love with her artwork and their friendship blossoms. Then, one day, Tomas collapses to the ground and, I don’t want to give too much away, but, these secrets that he’s been keeping finally get revealed.
Mosaic: Tell me a little bit about what types of art you like to draw inspiration from.
Anthony: Okay, well I have done a lot of cooking. Before I got to high school everything was based on the culinary arts. Then I joined my school drama club and instantly fell in love dancing, singing, acting and everything involved with theater.
Mosaic: So your current goals are they performance based?
Anthony: I’m trying to be a triple threat, so I’ve spent all of quarantine working my butt off on all three, but I would say my forte is definitely dancing
Mosaic: You mentioned cooking, but what are some of your other hobbies besides theater?
Anthony: When I was younger I used to like doing sports: basketball, a little bit of football, but as I grew up I started to learn that arts were really my thing. So everything I do now is sort of artistically motivated, so like photography, I love to paint, I love to design costumes. Yaa, all of my hobbies now are really art motivated. I really try to put my all into everything I do artistically.
Mosaic: All right, Anthony it has been a joy talking with you this afternoon, I hope you have a great rest of your day and I'm looking forward to seeing your play.
SAB’VEA EDWARDS (SHE/HER) | DON’T CALL IT JUSTICE
Sab’Vea: My name is Sab’Vae Edwards, I’m in the 10th grade, and I was born in Washington DC.
Mosaic: Thank you so much for making time for this. Can you run us quickly through what your play is about?
Sab’Vea: Okay, my play is about four girls and two of these girls are White and the others are Black and they get into a race fight at lunch. So, they’ve got detention and they start talking about the fight they had, and the two African American girls really give the other two insight on how it feels to be Black in America and the struggles that they deal with.
Mosaic: What led you to wanting to tell this story?
Sab’Vea: I feel like, being my age, I don't really have a platform that I can go and tell people how I feel. So writing really helps me to express my emotions.
Mosaic: Do you find yourself drawn to a certain type of story?
Sab’Vea: Oh, I love watching movies and plays and broadway shows so it's a broad range of everything. I also do dance and dancing is like an expression of theater.
Mosaic: What kind of dance do you practice?
Sab’Vea: Ballet mainly. I started doing more modern, jazz, and hip hop. Oh, and liturgical dance for my church, not sure if there are specific words for that but like praise dancing.
Mosaic: What are some of your favorite musicals?
Sab’Vea: Oh, my favorite musical is definitely Hamilton . I listened to 21 Chump Street and that was really good and Heather's, I love that one.
Mosaic: Do you see yourself going into storytelling professionally when you get older, either in theatre or film.
Sab’Vea: Definitely, I've always thought that I would love to be a dancer.
MIKAYLA CLARK (SHE/HER) | THE X’S AND O’S | IG: @MUX.KAYLUH
Mikayla: Okay, my name is Mikayla Clark, I am in 11th grade, and my hometown is Annapolis.
Mosaic: What would be a 60 second summary of the play you wrote for Mosaic’s Contest?
Mikayla: In my play there are two divorced parents who have not seen their son for over five years and they get a call that he's to be sentenced to life in prison for a crime that he committed. They basically sit in the waiting room and discuss the key points in his life and the role that they might have played in their son's downfall.
Mosaic: Have you written anything before?
Mikayla: This is the first play, but I also write spoken-word poetry.
Mosaic: Why should people be excited to watch this play.
Mikayla: People should be excited to watch my play because it dives into some deep societal topics and when you look at it you think about your own actions and you think about your own behavior. In my play you'll see stuff that you probably do. You’ll see things that your friends do, and you can look at your actions and you can change them.
Mosaic: That sounds absolutely amazing. Thank you for making the time to chat with me. Are there any last words of wisdom you want to leave us with?
Mikayla: When you look at my play just have an open mind. And if you're not open to the change at least be open to the conversation.
MASAI WRAY | DICE | IG: @RAYSTAYLOSIN
Masai: My name is Masai Ray, I'm a junior in high school, and my hometown is Bowie, Maryland.
Mosaic: And how would you describe the play that you wrote?
Masai: My play is about a poor musician named Akimbo and his girlfriend, Naomi. Naomi has a job but they're both very poor and Akimbo doesn't really have a job, but he does have a guitar and a lot of musical talent. He spends most of his time playing in dance halls but Naomi is much more strict, or, I should say, she wants him to go on a more solid path.
Mosaic: Did you have any specific inspiration for writing this play?
Masai: I get most of my inspiration for this stuff from music.
Mosaic: Who are some of your favorite musicians?
Masai: Well my favorite musician of all time is Childish Gambino, Donald Glover. I grew up in a predominantly Black area so I listen to R&B and Hip Hop; J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Funkadelic, a lot of different people. But then I’m around a lot of White people in theater so I listen to Rock and hear people like David Bowie.
Mosaic: Are you a musician yourself?
Masai: I’m not a musician myself, most of my artistic stuff lies within comedy actually. When I grow up, I want to be a writer for a sitcom. I want to bring more of my life into what I see on TV, because I feel like I've lived a sort of marginalized life that isn't portrayed on TV as often, and I’d like to change that.
Mosaic: Thank you for your time and insights.