Congratulations, Emily Charouhas!

One of my fellow students in the College of the Canyons New Works Festival class is 12-year-old Emily Charouhas. Her stage play, Mr. Furnettle and the Christmas Debacle, will be staged in March along with the other plays written by adults.

The submission process was blind, so Emily was accepted because of her talent and not her age. We're all very proud of her, and excited to share the class with such a gifted prodigy.

Emily is also an accomplished actress, with several television credits. I was not surprised to learn that Emily had a background in acting. Many of our greatest playwrights were also actors.

William Shakespeare, for example.

Now Emily's story has appeared in our local newspaper, The Signal:

"While most junior high school students probably prefer to spend their free time listening to music, watching their favorite movies and TV shows, and hanging out with friends, Emily Charouhas likes to sing, act and write award-winning plays - a passion that has landed the 12-year-old student at College of the Canyons for the winter session."

You can read the article here.

Congratulations, Emily!