Question asked by a student from Selbyville Middle School

ANSWER #1 (from Joshua Guessford)
This is a question, that I am sure many of the Festival's playwrights have!  While it seems that money would be a really awesome prize, the Finalists will not be receiving any money.  Don't be disheartened though, because this is not to say that they won't be winning anything!  From my experience, I can tell you that the rewards you will gain from the entire process have more value in themselves, than any amount of money!  Your hard work will pay off! 

The Finalists will get a chance to work alongside their own personal team of experienced and talented theatre professionals - including, but not limited to, a director, an acting team, technical crew, dramaturge, set designers, and many more!  Secondly, the winners will be gaining tons of experience!  I'm not sure about you, but being a former Finalist, I don't know many other people my age who have had such an engaging and exciting experience!  You get to not only watch, but actively participate in the process of YOUR PLAY growing and transforming from ideas formulated in your brain, to words flowing from the mouths and bodies of the actors on the stage!  What other people do you know who have such an experience, and are still in high school? 

And this isn't  even everything that comes with the deal!  There's so much more to gain from this program!  So, like I said, your hard work will pay off!

ANSWER #2 (from Hilde Alexander)
Not to sound too cheesy, but mostly what you win is a great experience and a chance to learn a lot.  While there's no cash prize, your play will be staged at no expense to you.  Trust me, that doesn't happen in real life. There's also a huge amount of honor in being a finalist.  You spend time [working with a] director and editing, making your play the best it can be, and meanwhile you're totally respected and acknowledged as the final word on everything having to do with your play.  In my time with the DYPF, I learned so much about working with others, writing, and producing -- not to mention, seeing people cheering and applauding for my play at the end of it all was worth more than any amount of cash.