DC Youth Speak Out Against Bullying in Capital Fringe Play 7/23

On July 23, 2011, at 12pm, in the Baldacchino Tent of Fort Fringe (607 New York Ave), Young Playwrights' Theater (YPT)'s award-winning student theater ensemble, the Young Playwrights' Workshop, will perform Out of the Shadow, their original play about bullying.

Produced through the new DC Fringe Youth-Led Producers Program, Out of the Shadow is the only Fringe play this year written and performed by a youth ensemble. With this play, DC students take a stand for their peers across the country, presenting multiple perspectives and sharing important stories.

Members of the Young Playwrights' Workshop work with a professional teaching artist to develop their theater skills and then work together to create, develop, rehearse and perform an original play. Out of the Shadow uses scenes, monologues, poems, dance and song to showcase various forms of bullying the students have experienced and witnessed. The play explores bullying based on immigration status, sexual orientation, race, class, and appearance, with a message of hope and tolerance.

"These students are speaking up about what they see on a daily basis because they want to bring about change," says David Snider, Producing Artistic Director and CEO of Young Playwrights' Theater. "Out of the Shadow offers an important perspective on bullying, giving the community the opportunity to see what it is like to bully and be bullied in the twenty-first century. We are excited to offer this opportunity to audiences at the Fringe Festival."

The play includes mature themes and language and may not be suitable for children under thirteen. More information about Out of the Shadow and the Young Playwrights' Workshop can be found at www.yptdc.org. Tickets are available at www.capfringe.org.

On October 20, 2010, the Young Playwrights' Workshop received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. The award, which was presented to YPT by First Lady Michelle Obama at a private White House ceremony, honors arts and humanities programs that make a marked difference in the lives of their participants by improving academic scores and graduation rates, enhancing life skills and developing positive relationships with peers and adults.

"Creating this play has helped me learn about myself and about the writing process," says Young Playwrights' Workshop student Reyna Rios. "I hope audience members walk away thinking about ways they can stop bullying in their own communities."

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