Billy Crudup, Peter Dinklage and More Set to Perform in STAND BY ME, Plays Written by Children, 4/4-7

The 52nd Street Project makes a difference in the lives of countless Hell's Kitchen (Clinton) kids by pairing them with theater professionals who mentor them through the creation of original theater. Perhaps the most poignant presentations made by The 52nd Street Project are those in its semi-annual Playmaking series, which features the Project's youngest Hell's Kitchen mentees-ten year-olds who have just begun their theatrical education-writing for accomplished professional actors and director-dramaturges, and revealing their work to a public audience for the first time. Reed Birney, Billy Crudup, Peter Dinklage and Myra Lucretia Taylor, along with other accomplished actors, will perform in Stand by Me: The Reliable Plays, the Project's newest Playmaking show, Stand by Me: The Reliable Plays.

Stand by Me: The Reliable Plays will run April 4 - 7 at The 52nd Street Project's Five Angels Theater (789 Tenth Avenue, 2nd floor, NYC). Performances will take place Thursday - Saturday, April 4 - 6, at 7:30 P.M.; and April 7 at 3:00 P.M. Admission is free, but reservations must be made in advance at 212.642.5052 or www.52project.org.

The Playmaking process begins with a nine-week playwriting course. At the end of the course, the kids are taken (along with their volunteer adult dramaturge/director) out of town for a "writer's retreat" in the countryside. After writing his/her own plays, each child is given a professional cast to complete the expression of his or her personal vision. The finished plays enjoy a run of public performances.

The ten kids writing the one-acts are Mussa Ahmed, Jayda Camacho, Kai Ceniza, Sasha Davis, Stephanie Macias, Matthew Orozco, David Ortiz, Chyanne Nicole Peña, Christin-Delaine Gavriella Tetteh and Damian Tineo.

The Adult Performers are Reed Birney, Molly Carden, Jackie Chung, Liza Colon-Zayas, Michael Crane, Billy Crudup, Peter Dinklage, Korey Jackson, Isaiah Johnson (Peter and the Starcatcher), Sue Jean Kim, Sekou Laidlow, Angela Lewis, Rachel Mewbron, Adrienne Moore, Scott Parkinson, Bhavesh Patel, Annie Purcell, Stephen O'Reilly, Jeanna Phillips and Julia Lawler.

The Adult Dramaturge/Directors are George Babiak, Paul Coffey, Rachel Dart, Andy Donald, Tasha Gordon-Solomon, Chad Hoeppner, Charise Castro Smith, Awoye Timpo, Nicole A. Watson and Kerry Whigham.

The production features original music by Kim D. Sherman.