Westford Academy students sophomore Andrew Dickey and senior Maia Cataldo have been selected as two of the five finalists for the 2016 Labute New Theater’s Festival held in St. Louis, Missouri on July 9th. The contest is for one act plays by professionals and high school students, which will be judged separately.

When constructing their plays, the students had help from their playwriting teacher, Michael Towers. Towers has been teaching Cataldo and Dickey in playwriting class since the beginning of the year.

Towers said he was “more excited than Maia…I was thrilled and proud.”

All three were overjoyed by the news, especially because this is the first time WA has participated in a nationwide playwriting contest.

“You are submitting to hundreds, knowing that you are going to get hundreds of rejections so to see the letter come saying ‘You’re it’…is really, really exciting,” Towers said.

Cataldo also said she is excited and nervous because she participated in the playwriting contest at the Boston Playwrights Theater earlier this year.

“I’m excited because I really enjoyed seeing my work being produced at the Boston Playwrights Theater,” said Cataldo.

Towers also described how Dickey reacted. “Andrew was probably closer to my response, he was beside himself, he really wore his emotions on his sleeve,” Towers said.

Dickey’s play is called The Sixth Amendment. It is about two sisters; one sister is a lawyer and the other has a son. The second sister’s son is an alleged murderer and they are seeking legal help from the first sister, but she refuses because she believes he is guilty.

The second play by Cataldo is called License and Registration Please. It is a comedy about a police officer who pulls over a woman for having her windshield wipers on when it is not raining and a conversation that goes on between the two.

Both plays will be honored and presented at the St. Louis Actors’ Studio .

“It’s a really big honor. I’m very excited,” said Dickey.