High School Senior Wrote Contest-Winning Play in Her Sleep

Risa Yanagisawa turned her dreams into a dream come true.

Yanagisawa, a senior at the Crossroads School for the Arts in Santa Monica, recently won the California Young Playwrights Contest with a play based on her dreams.

Yanagisawa’s work, entitled “The Dreamwalkers,” tells the story of six strangers who meet in a surreal locale and how their interactions help them understand themselves and their roles in society.

The play was one of four winning entries chosen from more than 125 works submitted in the statewide contest.

“It was a wonderful surprise,” said the 17-year-old West Los Angeles resident. “I had completely forgotten that I had entered the contest.” Yanagisawa wrote the play last year for a class project, and her teacher suggested that she enter the script in the contest.

“I had a lot of fun writing it,” she said. “It took me two days to write it, and I think it was a pretty original idea.”

Yanagisawa’s winning script will be performed Wednesday through Dec. 20 as part of Plays by Young Writers ’92 at the Cassius Carter Centre Stage in San Diego.

For several months, Yanagisawa has been involved in the play’s production. She said that it has been a rewarding experience because she has learned what really goes into making a successful work.

“Everyone had different ideas about sets, costumes and it was sometimes difficult to see their point of view,” she said. “Now, I can’t wait to see the outcome.”

The Los Angeles Coastal Cities Unit of the American Cancer Society elected Robert Swan as president of its board of directors.

Swan, a resident of Beverly Hills, is chief financial officer of Global Pictures in Los Angeles.

A volunteer for four years, he most recently served as vice president of administration and finance for the nonprofit organization. In his new role, he will guide the organization in implementing cancer prevention and early detection programs for the community.

Jerry Orefice has been named chairman of Pepperdine University’s Crest Advisory Board. Working with other board members, Orefice will serve as a liaison between the Malibu university and surrounding communities. He is a graduate of the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business in Connecticut.

He resides in Westlake Village and Malibu.

Gov. Pete Wilson recently honored Loren Beidleman at the State Job Training Coordinating Council luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Sacramento.

One of 43 awardees, Beidleman, who was born with spina bifida, is a full-time receptionist for National Medical Enterprises in Santa Monica. He received his training and placement under the Job Training Partnership Act.