Touchstone Theatre celebrates the 20th year of its acclaimed Young Playwrights’ Lab and its resulting “Young Playwrights’ Festival.”

The annual showcase of short plays written by local elementary and middle school students is presented at 3 p.m. May 18, Northeast Middle School, Bethlehem.

Following the performance, there will be a celebration with cake for playwrights and attendees in honor of the program’s 20th anniversary.

Presented in partnership with the Bethlehem Area School District, Young Playwrights’ Lab is an eight-week arts and literacy residency for third- to eighth-grade students. The program is intended to encourage creative self-expression and improve student attitudes toward writing.

Using improvisation, writing exercises and collaborative critique, each student writes an original one-act play which is considered for inclusion in the Young Playwrights’ Festival.

The plays often feature light-hearted elements like talking animals, space aliens and imaginary worlds. They also explore universal themes of love, resilience, importance of family, and bravery in the face of adversity.

“We are fortunate that for the last 20 years we’ve been able to experience the wit, whimsy and wisdom of our youth,” says Mary Wright, Touchstone Theatre Education Director.

“In that time, more than 2,000 students have been through our Young Playwrights’ Lab program.

“And with our annual Young Playwrights’ Festival, we as a community get to enjoy the combination of kids’ imaginations and Touchstone’s artistry melding into a one-of-a-kind afternoon of theater,” Wright says.

More than 120 students’ plays were submitted for this year’s program, with four scripts chosen as finalists for fully-staged production in the festival.

Two semi-finalists will be partially produced and five runners-up will get a scene or brief dialogue performed onstage.

Plays and scenes will be directed by Touchstone company members Amber Charest, Bill George, Matt Prideaux, Lisa Jordan and Jp Jordan; and guest director Amy Putlock, a teacher at Broughal Middle School.

The plays will be performed by Touchstone actors, community performers and students from area schools.

Finalists are “$3,000 Fine” by Amelia Quick of Buchanan Elementary School, “The Voices in Your Head” by Kelsey Bolash of Nitschmann Middle School, “The Legend of the Forgotten Wish Tomb” by Mac Parker of Lincoln Elementary School and “Balamabam Squad” by Isabelle Frye of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School.

“$3,000 Fine” is an imaginative exploration of the impact that littering has on the environment, with guidance from talking sea creatures.

In “The Voices in Your Head,” a young clothing designer starts to doubt herself and has to overcome a literal manifestation of her mental block in order to succeed.

“The Legend of the Forgotten Wish Tomb” follows two brave adventurers who set out to save their village by finding the Forgotten Wish Tomb.

In “Balamabam Squad,” a group of teens and a cat that shoots lasers band together to save their town from evil scientists, a gargantuan flower and some mean monsters.

Semi-finalists are “Love Who You Are” by Mia Sanchez Tejeda of Freemansburg Elementary School and “Illegal Chariot Spree” by Celeste Pennock of William Penn Elementary School.

Runners-up are “Lost and Found” by Chloe Williams of Farmersville Elementary School, “Adventure of the Atlantic” by Vincent Hernandez of Marvine Elementary School, “Angels in the Sky” by Xia Peralta of Donegan Elementary School, “Luffy and the Dragon” by Kluivert Paul of Governor Wolf Elementary School and “The Wonderful Journey” by Zori Sawyer of Spring Garden Elementary School.

To support Young Playwrights’ Lab and Touchstone arts education programs, Touchstone has launched the “Write the Future” campaign. A local donor has pledged to match every donation made before June 15, up to $10,000. Donations can be made at touchstone.org.

“Young Playwrights’ Festival,” 3 p.m. May 18, Northeast Middle School, 1170 Fernwood St., Bethlehem. 810-867-1689; http://www.touchstone.org/

“Curtain Rises” is a column about the theater, stage shows, the actors in them and the directors and artists who make them happen. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com