Senior Elaina Bayard became the seventh Saint Stephen’s student to win the top prize in the 11 years of Theater Odyssey’s Ten-minute Student Playwriting Festival, earning her a $1,000 scholarship. SSES students wrote three of the eight finalist plays that were performed over the weekend in Sarasota at the Asolo’s Cook Theatre. Bayard, who will attend Brown University in the fall, won with her work, “A Matter of Time.” Junior Patrick Van Eyck (Changing Fortunes) and freshman Sawyer Girgis (The Devout Spinster) each won $200 prizes. Students in grades 9-12 were invited to submit original plays and the finalists were eventually chosen from among 40 entries. Jason Cannon – a professional actor, director, playwright, teacher, and publisher – worked with the eight finalist playwrights to help them improve their plays prior to the performances. Saint Stephen’s was the only area school to produce multiple finalists.