Merritt Kanzer ’28 Named One of Ten Young Playwrights by Palm Beach Dramaworks

Saint Andrew's School is proud to announce that Merritt Kanzer '28 has been selected as one of the top 10 winners of the 2026 Palm Beach Dramaworks Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest with her play The Cutting Board.

Two additional Saint Andrew's students were recognized in the highly competitive contest: The Oaths by Quinn Morse '26 and The Counselor by Blake Roberts '28 were named among the twenty finalists. This is the second time a student from Saint Andrew's School has been named to the top 10 in this contest, following Alessandra Roberts '24 selection in 2024.

The Palm Beach Dramaworks Young Playwrights 10-Minute Play Contest is open to Palm Beach County students in grades 9-12. This year, 87 plays were submitted. On December 1, twenty finalists were selected and given one week to revise their scripts. From that group, ten plays, including Merritt's, were chosen as winners.

As a contest winner, Merritt's play will be assigned a professional director and professional actors and presented in a staged reading at Palm Beach Dramaworks on March 7, 2026. Leading up to the performance, Merritt will participate in an additional revision process with guidance from professional playwrights.

Merritt originally wrote The Cutting Board as part of an Honors Creative Writing assignment taught by Dr. Mandy Albert. At the conclusion of the playwriting unit, Dr. Albert submitted plays by interested students to the Palm Beach Dramaworks competition.

"When I read the first draft of Merritt's play, I knew it had the potential to be something very special," said Dr. Albert. "She has a talent for balancing whimsical humor with poignant observation. One of the judges described the play as 'a cross between absurdist theatre and children's theatre with dark undertones,' which is honestly a spot-on description."

Merritt shared that she learned about the competition through Dr. Albert's class and felt immediately inspired to participate. After initially beginning with a different concept, she shifted directions and fully committed to developing her current idea, spending much of her free time writing and revising. Feedback from friends, peers, Dr. Albert, and eventually the judges helped shape the play into its final, winning form.

"The revision process still continues! I am excited to see future improvements to the play before it is performed by Palm Beach Dramaworks in March." 

Reflecting on the experience, Merritt added, "I feel like I've always had worlds of ideas and characters in my mind, and I'm so grateful to Dr. Albert for inspiring me to write a play where I could bring those ideas to life for other people to see."

Merritt's achievement reflects Saint Andrew's commitment to purposeful creative expression, empowering students to use storytelling to explore ideas, take risks, and connect with the world beyond the classroom.