The Camden Central School District is pleased to congratulate tenth grade student Annaka Stauring on having her work selected for the Syracuse Stage Young Playwright’s Festival. The festival was held on the evening of Tuesday, May 2nd in Syracuse. To participate in the Young Playwright’s Festival, high school students are challenged to submit a ten-minute original play. Nearly 200 students from across Central New York took Syracuse Stage up on that challenge this year. The field is narrowed down to a group of semifinalists, who earn the opportunity to participate in a writing workshop and receive professional critiques and evaluations.
Out of the semifinalist group, Annaka was one of eight students selected as a finalist. As a finalist, she saw her work come to life in front of a live audience as Syracuse University drama students performed her play as a staged reading. She was the only finalist selected from Oneida County.
Although she is a sophomore, Annaka has wasted no time seizing her opportunities in the performing arts at Camden. She has put in a tremendous amount of effort into the musical and drama productions at Camden High School. Most recently, she played Mrs. Drysdale in the spring drama production of “The Beverly Hillbillies”, florist Mr. Mushnik in this year’s musical production of “Little Shop of Horrors”, and Marmee in CHS Drama's “Little Women”. While excelling in very significant roles for the audience, she has also stood in a leadership role as stage manager for both of this year’s drama productions.
