Knox Student Named a Winner in Chicago Young Playwrights Festival

Knox College student Arthur Pascale has been selected as one of three winners of the 25th annual Chicago Young Playwrights Festival.

A first-year student from Chicago, Pascale wrote "Karl and Joey," a comedy about two youths who counterfeit sports memorabilia. As part of the scam, Pascale explained, his characters "invent a fake baseball player," who winds up getting nominated to the Hall of Fame.

The Chicago Dramatists group performed staged readings of "Karl and Joey" and the other winning plays on Jan. 3 in The Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago. An awards ceremony took place after the performances.

"It went really well," Pascale said afterward. "The actors were great."

The Young Playwrights Festival is a Chicago program that encourages students to write short stage plays. Pascale entered the competition last year, when he was a senior at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago.

"It always feels good to be recognized for something," said Pascale, who spent months writing and polishing his 45-minute play.

While "Karl and Joey" is Pascale's first play, he also has written several short stories. "If you have a good story, you might as well tell it," he said.

Pascale's creative streak also carries into his academic work. During his first term at Knox, he co-wrote a musical skit that he and three other students performed for their Elementary German class.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 48 countries. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.