Not often does a student playwright see her work performed by a professional cast before a live audience.  However, Taylor Dupre has been awarded with this unique opportunity.

Playmakers of Baton Rouge - the only professional theatre for young audiences - recently announced that Dupre's original, one-act play, Going Postal, has been selected for production in the Playmakers Young Playwrights Festival.

The performance will take place in the spring of 2012 at the Reilly Theater on the LSU campus. Prior to the production, Dupre will participate in a script development workshop with a professional director and professional actors to help perfect her piece.

She is eagerly awaiting the rehearsal process. “I am excited to see my play staged by skilled actors and actresses,” Dupre said, “and am grateful to be given such an awesome opportunity.”

ZCSD Talented Theatre Instructor, Dr. Christopher J. Krejci, is quick to remind Dupre that she earned this honor through hard work and dedication.

Dupre began developing Going Postal during her freshman year in her Talented Theatre class. “I saw something promising in Taylor’s work,” Dr. Krejci says, "So I encouraged her to submit the piece for the competition.”

Going Postal is set outside a post office. The action and dialogue are seen through the eyes of Susan, a sharp, slightly disgruntled postal employee on her lunch break.

Throughout the play, Susan listens in on the conversations of people around her, often adding her two cents. After eavesdropping on the trivial and not so trivial woes of others, Susan decides that her life is quite perfect by comparison.

“As current ZHS students and alums are well aware,” Dr. Krejci professes, “the ZHS drama department has a history of excellence, thanks in no small part to the many dedicated fine arts and core teachers throughout the district.”

Drama club sponsor Jen Masterson agrees, adding that the day-to-day efforts of teachers and parents in this community have really opened doors for Taylor and other students.

“Thanks to the high standards set in our core classrooms, my theatre students walk in to drama ready to interpret and perform a variety of texts - everything from Shakespeare to Shaw and beyond," said Masterson. "Submitting a play into a contest is par for the course for Taylor due in large part to the level of expectations we set for students in Zachary. I am just really proud of her work and glad to see our students getting the recognition they deserve.”