Catching the PLaywriting bug
YPT runs several different types of programs throughout the year: both in-school and after-school programs, a summer writing workshop, and the Young Playwrights’ Workshop. In addition, YPT also collaborates periodically with theaters, museums, and other institutions to create works that are relevant to current events.
Each in-school program culminates in the New Play Festival, an annual “celebration” of the voices of YPT’s students. YPT chooses several plays from its group of students and partners each writer with professional actors and directors to put on their plays in front of a public audience. The 2016 festival will take place at three different venues in DC over the course of three weeks in April.
Image from YPT production "One in the Chamber."/Photo source: YPT Facebook page
“Seeing my play performed was the best part [of the program]. It was so cool to see how the play had come so far, and the creative choices that were made… I had never written a play before then, and the experience definitely made me catch the playwriting bug. I've been writing them ever since,” said Nana.
YPT’s upcoming performance, “Girls Write Out!” is coming to DC on Monday, October 19th, at the Forum in Sidney Harman Hall. Featuring four plays written by YPT student playwrights age 8-15, the production is part of the Women’s Voices Theatre Festival. (Next)
About the Author: Marisa Weidner is a graduate of The College of William and Mary. She has volunteered as a teacher in Belize, and in homeless shelters in the United States. Marisa chronicles her explorations of DC on her blog, The Curated City.