Philadelphia Young Playwrights and Temple University Present 2010 New Voices

Philadelphia Young Playwrights kicks off the 2010-11 Play Development Series with New Voices: Workshop Productions of students plays and monologues, an annual presentation of student work, in collaboration with Temple University. On November 4, 5 and 6, greater Philadelphia's most compelling young writers will team up with a group of professional Philadelphia theatre artists to have their plays presented at Tomlinson Theater (13th and Norris Streets, Philadelphia).

Professional theatre artists José Avilés, John Bellomo, Allison Heishman, David Mackay, Brandon McShaffrey, David O'Connor, and Jan Silverman will direct enhanced workshops of first place winning middle and high school student plays and monologues which were selected from 715 submissions to the 2010 Annual Playwriting Festival. The readings will be performed by undergraduate student actors in the Department of Theater at Temple University.

The plays and monologues by winning student playwrights explore a wide range of subjects and universal themes such as dealing with adversity and learning to love oneself completely. Participating students come from schools throughout the region, including Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and Science Leadership Academy (Philadelphia School District), Northeast Philadelphia's Little Flower High School for Girls, The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr (Montgomery County), Cedarbrook Middle School in Wyncote (Montgomery County), and Upper Darby High School and Beverly Hills Middle School in Upper Darby (Delaware County).

Philadelphia Young Playwrights' New Voices: Workshop Productions gives middle and high school playwrights the opportunity to see their work presented in a professional workshop. As part of the showcase, the student playwrights are at the center of a two-week rehearsal and production process in which they interact directly with the director, dramaturg, actors and stage crew.

2010 Annual Playwriting Festival winners were chosen at each grade level, and each student who submitted a play received detailed comments from theatre professionals who read his or her script. Other staged readings and productions will take place throughout the fall and winter including the upcoming Saturday Reading Series.

On Thursday, November 4, opening night of the New Voices series, Philadelphia Young Playwrights welcomes First Person Arts, who will be on hand to collect stories from young playwrights and audience members, as part of the organization's First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art (November 8 - 14, 2010). After a storytelling workshop with Young Playwrights, Teaching Artist Kate McGrath and alumna playwright Shanise Williams were selected to have their stories featured in-depth in the First Person Museum, a multi-media exhibit which will be viewable online at www.firstpersonmuseum.org or in person at The Painted Bride Art Center from November 5 - December 18, 2010. On November 12, First Person Arts will host a special Philadelphia Young Playwrights night at the First Person Museum to showcase these stories. Visit www.PhillyYoungPlaywrights.org for updated event information.

SCHEDULE:

All New Voices performances are held at Temple University's Tomlinson Theater, located at 13th and Norris Streets in Philadelphia. Admission is FREE; no tickets or reservations are required. Content is appropriate for middle and high school audiences. Each play or monologue summary is written by the student playwright.

Program #1 - Thursday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 6 at 8:00 p.m.

Note: *School and grade at the time of submission to the Festival

Abuse
By Lauren Pierre ~ Beverly Hills Middle School, Grade 8*
Directed by José Avilés
About: After Niki's father dies, she has to help her mom stop being abused by her boyfriend.

Purpose
By Jacob Fagliano ~ Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Grade 10*
Directed by John Bellomo
About: The meaning of life has been a topic pondered since the beginning of humanity. But when Jeremy and Shawn have an unexpected conversation with God, the mystery is revealed. Too bad they didn't hear it.

Voice of Violence (monologue)
By Kayla Anderson ~ Little Flower High School for Girls, Grade 11*
Directed by Brandon McShaffrey
About: The personification of Violence shares its manifesto in this monologue.

Grounded
By Kelsey Veno ~ The Baldwin School, Grade 11*
Directed by Jan Silverman
About: After the death of her mother, Iylah develops an eating disorder based on the empty promise of reuniting with her mother someday. The play follows Iylah and Ana, her eating disorder personified, through treatment in a rehab center where Iylah is forced to choose between life on earth and "life in the sky."

Program #2 - Friday, November 5 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 6 at 2:00 p.m.

Note: *School and grade at the time of submission to the Festival

God Makes No Mistakes
By Gina Dukes ~ Science Leadership Academy, Grade 10*
Directed by David Mackay
About: The play is about a Nigerian family living in present-day Nigeria dealing with homosexuality in an extremely homophobic community. The play intends to show what it takes for someone to see the world in a new way.

Axioms of Teenagers
By Haley Gordon ~ Cedarbrook Middle School, Grade 8*
Directed by Allison Heishman
About: A teenage girl vents her emotions through an advice column she writes for her school newspaper.

Emily's Grandmother (monologue)
By Elyse Pitock ~ Radnor High School*
Directed by Brandon McShaffrey
About: Emily considers the meaning of leaving a legacy after death when her grandmother reveals that she is sick.

On The Way
By Lyn (Huong) Nguyen ~ Upper Darby High School, Grade 11*
Directed by David O'Connor
About: This play is about a Vietnamese teenage girl losing her father to the Vietnam War and growing up and finding hope in the process.

About Philadelphia Young Playwrights

Founded in 1987 by Adele Magner, and led today by Executive Producing Director Glen Knapp, Philadelphia Young Playwrights is an award-winning program that taps the potential of youth and inspires learning through playwriting in more than 50 public and private K-12 schools each year. A leader in the region's educational programs for youth and built upon its primary belief that all students have something important and valuable to say, Young Playwrights has enriched the Greater Philadelphia community, touching the lives of thousands of students, teachers and parents for the past twenty years. Since 1987, approximately 60 professional playwrights have led workshops, and nearly all of Philadelphia's professional theater companies have participated by performing, producing, or directing student works. Nearly 60,000 students have seen peers' work produced in class or by professionals. Young Playwrights' Literary Committee includes more than 60 educators, writers, parents, and former Young Playwrights students who read and critique each student script. Young Playwrights has been recognized as a Champion in Action by Citizens Bank and is the past recipient of a 2005 Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service, a 1997 Barrymore Award for Theatre Education, a 2003 George Bartol Award for Excellence in Arts Education, a national "Points of Light" designation, and a 2004 Eastern University Award for Nonprofit Excellence. 

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