Essay Competition Centered on
Camping with Henry and Tom by Mark St. Germain
Kids' Dreams proudly underwrites a special performance of Camping with Henry and Tom by Mark St. Germain for students from multiple Title 1 Palm Beach County high schools.
Project Details
- Students must be in grades 9 – 12.
- All district Title 1 high school students are eligible.
- There is no cost to schools or students.
- Coach transportation and theatre tickets are provided.
- All essays are adjudicated blindly.
- Students win cash prizes from $50 to $300
- Teachers with winning students receive a $200 prize for their classroom.
2025 Timeline
- January – Students read Camping with Henry and Tom by Mark St. Germain (provided)
- February 17 – 21 – PBD visits participating classrooms to discuss and analyze the play with students. A prompt for an essay contest is announced.
- March 14 – Essays due to Palm Dramaworks by 5:00pm
- April 22 – 10:00am performance and talkback of Camping with Henry and Tom at PBD. Essay contest winners announced from the stage.
Standards
By participating in the ‘Lit’ Theatre Project, the following standards are addressed:
- ELA.9-12.C.1.3: Write literary analyses to support claims, using logical reasoning, credible evidence from sources, and elaboration, demonstrating an understanding of literary elements.
- ELA.9-12.R.1.2: Analyze and compare universal themes and their development throughout a literary text. Benchmark Clarifications: Clarification 1: A universal theme is an idea that applies to anyone, anywhere, regardless of cultural differences. Examples include but are not limited to an individual’s or a community’s confrontation with nature; an individual’s struggle toward understanding, awareness, and/or spiritual enlightenment; the tension between the ideal and the real; the conflict between human beings and advancements in technology/science; the impact of the past on the present; the inevitability of fate; the struggle for equality; and the loss of innocence.
- ELA.9-12.C.3.1: Follow the rules of standard English grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling appropriate to grade level.
- TH.912.C.1.6: Respond to theatrical works by identifying and interpreting influences of historical, social, or cultural contexts.
Students will read the play as part of their high school curriculum, thereby satisfying specific various Florida credit requirements. After reading the play, students will write an essay on the themes based on an ethics question.
Palm Beach Dramaworks staff and independent, respected educators will read the essays and score them based on a rubric.
The “Lit” Theatre Project launched in 2023. The inaugural competition was centered on Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, and the winners were presented with their awards by Kids’ Dreams co-founder and president, Patricia Lebow.
The winners were:
Raziah Ruiz
Palm Beach Lakes High School
Phillip Gordon
Palm Beach Lakes High School
Bruneldo Lajeunesse
Royal Palm Beach High School
Jonathan Martin
Lake Worth High School
Alyssa Chavez
Palm Beach Lakes High School
Haely Hager
Lake Worth High School
An additional $200 was presented to each the following teachers for their classroom:
Ericka Cooper-Hadden: Lake Worth High School
Rebecca Donovan-Bain: Palm Beach Lakes High School
Teddy Odum: Royal Palm Beach High School
