Houston will get HYPE-d in Aug. On the 11th and 12th, the Alley Theatre will premiere new works from Houston area teens in their annual Houston Young Playwrights Exchange festival. The five pieces were chosen in an open competition held in May.

To submit for the contest, a playwright must be between the ages of 13 and 19. Plays can have no more than six characters in a one-act format (up to thirty minutes with no intermission).

The five winners are:

Failed Attempts at Flattery by Matt Hardigree (age 17): a romantic comedy of two roommates who work part-time as sing-a-gram performers and fall for the same girl.
Hominids are People Too by Ginger Turner (age 17): a comedy influenced by David Ives about a prehistoric family trying to preserve themselves from extinction.
Abigail and Anthony by Joshua Drimmer (age 19): a dramatic and innovative rendering of a young professional whose life spirals out of control when his romantic relationship dies.
Ave Maria by Victoria Zyp (age 19): a comic drama of life at an all girls Catholic school as see through the eyes of Marie.
Street Corners by Andre Ford (age 19): in the influence of Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf, this drama uses free-form prose and poetry to look at race, moral, class and social issues through the eyes of three generations of African-American men.

Directing the plays will be Stephen Aleman and Dennis Draper. Auditions for the shows will be July 15 and by appointment only. Actors should prepare a one minute monologue and call (713) 220-5700 ext. 411 for an audition time.

Tickets to the HYPE nights are $5. The two performances will be held at the Alley's Neuhaus Arena Stage. For reservations, call (713) 228-8421.

-- By Christine Ehren