We’re proud to introduce the winning playwrights of the Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival 2026:
The Author Behind the Happily Ever After
Allana Beckman
Valley View High School, Moreno Valley, CA
Mermaid Story
Carleigh Rios
Martin Luther King High School, Riverside, CA
The Rats of Broadway
Jason Bulanek
Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley, CA
Look At Me, I Exist
Ryleigh Sanchez
Valley View High School, Moreno Valley, CA
The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival promotes and encourages creative writing-in the theatrical form!
VISION & VOICE
The Theater Arts are exciting, captivating and some might say a difficult road to travel alone. Enter the Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival (PS•YPF).
PS•YPF’s goal is to provide young aspiring playwrights with the community and venue for their talents to blossom. Our festival functions like an advanced workshop, where youth develop their plays and give voice to their visions.
Anthony Banuelos, 2024 PS•YPF Winner
THE EXPERIENCE
Anyone who's ever written something from the heart can relate to how searching the process can be. It’s easy to feel lost in a sea of dialogue at times, nevertheless it’s this creative bug that keeps us writing and rewriting, highlighting and marking up until we have a first draft.
Our festival community dives deep into the writing process and helps young playwrights take their words from page to the stage. For many youth it’s the first time they will hear their words delivered by professional actors. Participants are greeted with a true professional experience, from table reads to receiving creative direction from real Directors in the field.
Blog
@PSYPF - Follow our community on Instagram and see our exploits!
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“I was so lucky to be surrounded by such a kind group of people willing to participate in making what I’d written be heard. It truly meant a lot to me to see a story I care so much about come to life.”
