Keystone Oaks Middle School students’ play selected for production as part of the 2024 Young Playwrights Festival

For the second consecutive school year, two Keystone Oaks Middle School students have been selected as winners in Pittsburgh City Theatre’s annual Young Playwrights Contest! Reagan Dobson and Afton Rogers’ play, “Squished,” was professionally produced as part of this year’s Young Playwrights Festival.

“Squished” tells the story of a lanternfly who seeks to avenge his father’s death after he was squished by a human. Lenny and his fellow lanternflies embark on an epic quest for revenge against the cold-blooded humans. “Squished” is a story of persistence, friendship and a lesson in minding your inter-species manners.

Afton and Reagan collaborated on the play last school year as students in Ms. Kelly Connolly’s 7th grade ELA class. They also worked with Mora Harris, a teaching artist with City Theatre, to write the one-act play.

The play-writing process took approximately six months to complete. In June, they were notified that their play had been selected for production and, over the course of five months, they worked with City Theatre to see their play from script to live performance.

“We really learned a lot about the writing process and everything that goes into making a play,” Afton and Reagan said. “We learned to ask for help when needed, to be flexible and, most importantly, to have fun!”

Their submission was selected from more than 250 plays written by students throughout western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia.