The 'Lit' Theatre Project
Underwritten by Kids' Dreams
Sponsored in part by the Virginia & Harvey Kimmel Family Fund
Essay Competition Centered on The Mountaintop by Katori Hall
PBD 'Lit' Theatre Contest Winners with actors Rita Cole and Christopher Lindsay. Fall 2025
Kids' Dreams proudly underwrites a special performance of The Mountaintop by Katori Hall for students from multiple Palm Beach County Title 1 high schools.
The 2025-2026 winners were:
1) Linckx Cius - Palm Beach Lakes High School - winning essay
2) Jazmin Mosqueda Rodriguez - Glades Central High School
3) Kathryn McKane - Palm Beach Lakes High School
4) Raziah Ruiz - Palm Beach Lakes High School
5) Sara Albert - Lake Worth High School
6) ChristBarbara Alcin - Glades Central High School
An additional $200 was presented to each of the following teachers for their classrooms:
- Rebecca Donovan-Bain - Palm Beach Lakes High School
- Ericka Hadden - Lake Worth High School
- Lynn Taylor or Rose Goldman - Glades Central High School
Fall 2025 Timeline
- September – October: Students read The Mountaintop by Katori Hall (provided)
- September 18 – October 1: PBD visits participating classrooms to discuss and analyze the play with students. A prompt for an essay contest is announced.
- October 17: Essays due to Palm Dramaworks by 5:00pm
- November 4 at 10:00am: performance and talkback of The Mountaintop at PBD. Essay contest winners announced from the stage.
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.
Curricula Connections and Standards:
The Mountaintop focuses on responsible decision-making, resiliency, gratitude, confronting mortality, and the importance of individual accountability.
By participating in the ‘Lit’ Theatre Project, the following ELA B.E.S.T. 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.
Florida Theatre Standard
- TH.912.C.1.6: Respond to theatrical works by identifying and interpreting influences of historical, social, or cultural contexts.
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