Young Audiences stage festival is Saturday in Tampa

ThinkTank, Tampa’s TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) company, is onstage Saturday with its TYA Playwrights Festival – five short plays by high school aged playwrights from the Tampa Bay area. The event starts at 1 p.m. at Stageworks, 1120 East Kennedy Blvd, Suite 151. Admission is free and/or “pay what you can donation.”

Chosen from dozens of submissions, the day’s initial productions, called Gen Next, are Strawberry Clouds by Noah Perez (Blake High), A Negotiation by Carly Kuck (Alonso High) and Be Punctual by Ava Shimmel (Patel High).

Showcase Finalists are Year of Thirteen Moons by Germaine Shames (at 4 p.m.) and Exhibits in the Zoo by Matt Harmon (7:30). There will be talkbacks afterwards with writer, director and cast members.

The shows, which have been fully workshopped by ThinkTank, include several professional actors from the Tampa Bay region, as well as young performers.

For reservations, call (813) 373-2416.