Theater

The Gaslamp Quarter Theatre Company has set dates for its “Plays by Young Writers ‘87” series. “And One Bell Shattered,” by 17-year-old Karen Hartman of La Jolla High School, will be paired with “Simply Maria, or the American Dream,” by 18-year-old Josephina M. Lopez of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Jan. 13, 15, 21, 23 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 16 and 24 at 2 p.m.

Hartman has been involved with the California Young Playwrights Project from its inception three years ago, first as an actress and last year and this year as a winning playwright. “And One Bell Shattered” describes a poet who loses faith in herself after reading Sylvia Plath. Lopez’s work, “Simply Maria” was inspired by Luis Valdez’s “I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges.” It tells the story of Hispanic girl unable to accept her parents’ views of women’s roles.

“Ebony,” “The Porcelain Tutor” and “Swim, Sandy, Swim!” will be grouped for showings Jan. 14, 16, 20 and 22 at 8 p.m. and Jan 17 and 23 at 2. “Ebony,” by 18-year-old Pamela Mshana of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, was also chosen by the Foundation of Dramatists Guild’s sixth annual Young Playwrights Festival for a staged reading at Playwrights Horizons in New York. (Among the 12 judges were Jules Feiffer, A.R. Gurney Jr., Marsha Norman and Stephen Sondheim.) “Ebony” is about a young woman in a self-destructive marriage.

“The Porcelain Tutor,” written by 17-year-old Rita Jeffries of Grossmont High School, describes two young women who share painful confidences about their fathers. If these young women make you feel old, don’t even think about the author of “Swim, Sandy, Swim!” first written last year by Kari Lydersen of Diegueno Junior High School when she was 11 and resubmitted this year in revised form after incorporating advice from the Project staff. Lydersen, a competitive swimmer, wrote her story about a young girl pressured to compete by her mother. All shows will play at the original Gaslamp Quarter Theatre Company at 547 4th Ave.