MCC Theater Youth Company Announces UNCENSORED 2013, 5/13

MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) have announced plans for its annual UnCensored, an evening of original monologues, scenes, music, and ensemble pieces written and performed by the MCC Theater Youth Company, a free, after-school program of New York City high school students interested in exploring self-expression and developing their acting and dramatic writing skills.

UnCensored features original works written by Youth Company members that tackle such diverse topics such as family, sexuality, politics, religion, and relationships, among others, as seen through the eyes of a modern New York City teenager. All performances of UnCensored will take place at The Lion Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street between 9th and Dyer Avenues), and a special benefit performance will take place on Monday, May 13th at 7PM.

Each year, MCC's Education and Outreach Department brings cultural education to more than 1,200 New York City students, representative of MCC's ongoing mission to foster new theatrical voices from some of the most promising young artists. The MCC Theater Youth Company, founded in 1999 as the first free youth company to be associated with a professional theater, is the longest operating ensemble of its kind in New York City. The company offers weekly acting and playwriting labs, led by leaders in the fields of theater arts and arts education. For the second year running, the MCC Theater Youth Company will share the stage with the George Washington Youth Company, a satellite program made up of students from the four high schools on the George Washington High School campus in Washington Heights. In total, all five boroughs and more than 40 schools in New York City are represented.

Works written and performed by MCC Theater Youth Company, directed by Jen Shirley, will be performed May 10, 16 -18 at 8PM; May 12 at 7:30PM; May 13 at 7PM (special benefit performance, $50 per ticket, tax deductible); and May 18 - 19 at 3PM. Works written and performed by George Washington Youth Company, directed by Raphael Peacock, will be performed May 11 at 8PM, May 12 at 3PM, and May 15 at 7PM. Tickets will be for a suggested donation of $10. Seating is limited and reservations are highly recommended. For reservations and additional performance information, please contact MCC Theater at 212-727-7722 ext. 222.

MCC Theater - founded in 1986 as Manhattan Class Company - is committed to developing and producing new work that challenges artists and rewards audiences. Our mission is carried out through an annual season of world, American, and New York premieres, literary development programs for emerging writers, and ground-breaking education programs that enable more than 1,200 New York City high school students to find - and use - their own unique voice each year through the creation and performance of original theater pieces. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the New York premiere of The Other Place starring Laurie Metcalf (which recently had a celebrated run on Broadway); the 2008 Tony Award-nominated Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute, The Pride, Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery's Frozen, Neil LaBute's Fat Pig, Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living, Marsha Norman's Trudy Blue, Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit, Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone, Alan Bowne's Beirut, The Submission, winner of the inaugural Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for new American plays, and last season's newly reworked and fully re-imagined production of Carrie, the musical. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards.

For more info, visit www.mcctheater.org.