From purple beards to some of the flashiest purple dresses, everyone really showed up to YPT’s Purple Promenade in their best to support arts education in DC!
YPT staff, board, and volunteers had a lot of fun visiting with our Takoma Park neighbors! Our booth stayed busy throughout the day, with tons of families participating in our Hermit Crab decoration activity!
Want to decorate your very own YPT Hermit Crab? Download the activity sheet below. Then post your shell on Facebook or Instagram and tag @yptdc so we can see it!
Working with Young Playwrights’ Theater and the Young Playwrights in Progress (YPIP) program has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my artistic career. My goal when starting YPIP was to transform my one-act play, Mama Bushwick is Dead, into a full-length.
I was so excited to be chosen as a resident artist, but also nervous to be working in such a professional capacity. I felt like a full collaborator and voice in the room rather than just a student. This was incredible, but made me nervous to have so much agency. Luckily, Keta and Farah were nothing short of wonderful. They were welcoming, supportive, kind, and had so much brilliant insight and advice about my play in specific and playwriting in general. I wish I could write every positive adjective about my experience with them.
Throughout the course of a year, my piece changed from 50 pages to 90 pages, and went through three workshop readings, the last of which was open to the public, and three talkbacks with the actors from the reading and other theater professionals. Now, it is the 2023 winner of the Bela Kiralyfalvi National Student Playwriting Competition and is being produced at Wichita State University in October 2023. Evidently, the process with YPIP allowed me to transform my piece into a script ready for production and aided me in finding incredible specificity and depth to the characters, setting, and plot.
Throughout the process, Keta and Farah were amazing about checking in and making sure that the program was serving my needs and goals as a writer. We adjusted the number of readings, how often we met, and the structure of the meetings to best serve the piece. They were also so understanding of my other commitments, such as school and work, and took care to ensure the experience was positive rather than stressful. I always felt able and comfortable to address concerns and ideas with them and felt as if I was in a non-judgemental space that was perfect for developing work.
Working with Joan, my dramaturg, was an equally rewarding experience. Joan gave me amazing resources to explore and specific things to research. She had lots of knowledge about the major elements and themes of my play, so was a perfect fit for the project. She also provided a refreshing perspective on the piece as someone who joined the team midway through the residency, which gave Farah, Keta, and me new and exciting ways to look at the piece.
My play would not be where it is today, nor would I be as developed as an artist, without the mentorship of Farah, Keta, Joan, and Young Playwrights’ Theater.
Applications for Young Playwrights in Progress 2023-24 are now open!
Watch the public reading of Mama Bushwick is Dead
It’s been a couple of months since embarking on my Silence is Violence (SiV) journey.
Reflecting back, I think about how special it was to have had the opportunity to really dive in and explore the massive cacophonous timeline that was and still is the COVID-19 pandemic. A time when folks were continuing to deal with their own personal journeys, while also processing life, death, political upheaval, a civil rights revolution, etc. For 3+ years, individuals, our families, our communities, our country, and the world faced something together and no matter how isolated and lonely we sometimes felt, there was at least one other person who was sharing similar thoughts and moments.
Silence is Violence: New Normal was a perfect reflection of that time. Monologues, poems, and scenes expressed a wide array of experiences such that, I’m pretty sure, all of us involved felt personally touched by at least one artist’s contribution. Hopefully, the audience felt that way as well. I hope they were able to see themselves and their stories reflected back at them. And in the moments that did not hit as close to home, that they felt empowered to hold space, honor, process, and appreciate the diversity of life in our community.
I hope the audience, like me, appreciated the time to reflect. To think on things that maybe some of us hadn’t been given the opportunity to think on, in the name of “moving on” or “getting back to normal” because capitalism needed us.
I’m thankful for the time we took in rehearsal and performance to pause and consider. To listen and to be heard amongst this talented group of artists in a safe space, where masks and tests were mandatory and provided, was a gift.
YPT has been a supportive home for me for most of my career, and it was a thrill to be creating work under their mission again. Work that was thoughtful, fun, and community building.
A school food fight turned murder mystery, college move-in day jitters, a spy mission, book characters coming to life, and a pizza dough machine walked into The Kennedy Center last month as original plays written by students in the YPT and DCPS Young Playwrights’ Workshop Program. It may be hard to picture, but it was magnificent!
Before joining YPT’s team in June 2022, I was a DCPS classroom teacher. I loved developing my relationship with the students over the course of the school year and watching their confidence and skills grow. Therefore, the Young Playwrights’ Workshop program was the perfect fit for me as I transitioned into my role at YPT.
I had the pleasure of working with five DCPS schools this year to devise and write original plays for the DCPS Performing Arts Festival. From October to May, I worked with students to brainstorm, devise, write, and rehearse their words.
One of the many things I love about teaching is that no class is ever the same. While the end goal of the Workshop program was the same for each school, they each took their own unique path to get there. Students at School Without Walls, the high school I partnered with, started by choosing a theme and writing monologues about their own life. From there, they partnered up to write scenes, shared them with the class, and ultimately, brainstormed ways that all of their scenes could work together in one cohesive story. On the other hand, students at Plummer Elementary School started by choosing their setting and genre and then brainstormed the conflict of the story. Through their work together, students learned the importance of balancing listening and sharing when collaborating with their classmates. It was sometimes challenging to get 20 students to agree and move the writing process forward, but through flexibility and compromise, they made it work.
Throughout the process, I was continuously impressed with the way students advocated for their ideas and the overall vision of the plays. For example, students at Brookland Middle School voiced how having directors and stage managers was imperative to the success of the play. Students began taking on other artistic team roles outside of playwright and found their own way of supporting the class play.
None of this incredible student work would have been possible without the leadership of these students’ outstanding classroom teachers. The teachers from School Without Walls, MacFarland Middle School, Brookland Middle School, Horace Mann Elementary School, and Plummer Elementary School were the best collaborators and guides throughout this process. They managed our program and project on top of their own district and school curriculum requirements, PARCC testing, student resistance, and planning and executing a field trip to The Kennedy Center for the festival. I am so grateful to have had them as our partners.
On the day of the Festival, students walked into The Kennedy Center with a mix of emotions and feelings: awe at The Kennedy Center itself, nerves, excitement, you name it. Each group took the stage and performed their extremely unique plays with their own flare. My cheeks hurt from smiling as I heard their words come to life and saw how proud they were of their work. They were playwrights!
Following the Festival, I visited each school one more time to reflect on their experience in the program and the Festival. They had so much to say! I am eager and excited to teach this program again next year!
Congratulations to the Young Playwrights’Workshop students! I am so proud of you!
In June 2022, I became a Resident Teaching Artist at Young Playwrights Theater. I applied for two reasons: being aligned with YPT, seeing every young person as brilliant, and the SAFER program.
Through Students Advocating for the Eradication of Racism (SAFER), students use the medium of theater to address pressing issues in their community, anti-racism, and other social justice issues. YPT partnered with Sitar Arts Center this year, meeting weekly over several months and ultimately sourcing content from playwrights throughout the YPT network to produce a staged reading in May 2023.
Reflecting on my experience leading SAFER at Young Playwrights Theater, I am filled with pride and joy. Young people were able to learn some fundamental components of diversity, inclusion, and equity. We learned how theaters nationwide are prioritizing social justice in their works and about playwrights highlighting their lived experiences, as well as how playhouses and companies are making accommodations and forming antiracist policies and practices.
Witnessing the passion and creativity of the high school students in SAFER taught me that every young person has a story to tell. One particular moment that stands out in my memory was when a sophomore at Duke Ellington wrote a response to a piece created by an adult playwright at PGCC. This piece added depth to our stage reading by pulling attention to the youth experience of navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic and the uprisings after the murder of George Floyd across the country as a young Black youth with family pressure to exceed.
Through SAFER, I saw in real time that social justice and artistic expression could intersect in powerful ways. Between the beginning of the program, when we shared our life maps and learned key terms, to the stage reading, when professional actors read students’ work, the power of activism was apparent.
Witnessing the voices of marginalized youth amplified through SAFER was incredibly inspiring because there aren’t many spaces that allow them to simply create. The experience of leading SAFER reaffirmed my belief in the power of centering youth experience because all systemic issues impact them and they are the least likely to be looked to for feedback or solutions. I can’t wait until the next season.
As someone who has had very little interaction with the theater world until recently, I never imagined that something I wrote would be included in a performance.
Silence is Violence: New Normal was a “small step/giant leap” moment for me. I branched out and tried a lot of new things with this production. I started off testing submission forms and marketing strategies, and the next thing I knew, I was including my name in the “Playwrights” section of the program.
Silence is Violence: New Normal is a collection of work from YPT students, playwrights, and other artists from all over the United States describing individual experiences of their lives during the pandemic in 2023 and what life may be like in 2026. The first open call for pieces was open to all ages and a large portion of the YPT staff submitted pieces to be included.
It isn’t always easy for me to express my feelings in writing. Even now, it has taken me a long time to write this post, but using the Silence is Violence prompts prepared by YPT Education Director Jared Shamberger had me filling out the blanks and enjoying my time. Checking off questions about my life after the start of the pandemic and how I appreciate certain things a little more now. I wasn’t expecting what I wrote to be included, hadn’t even thought about it after I finished my piece.
On another night, I was waiting at a restaurant for my partner to leave a concert (I skipped out early) and the thought of how different my life became after the start of the pandemic was on my mind. As I was taking notes for my therapist and organizing those scattered thoughts into something cohesive, I ended up realizing how well what I wrote fit into what YPT was looking for in submissions for Silence is Violence. So, I basically submitted what I had written with a few tweaks to make it flow better. Not exactly something I would normally do, or even think to do on a standard day.
I don’t remember which version of the script I was reading when I realized both pieces I wrote were there. I do remember a flood of several different feelings all rushing in at once. Surprise, joy, excitement, apprehension, and anxiety all passed through in a split second.
A few times I thought about rescinding my submissions. Did I really want everyone to have that much of a peek into my life and thoughts? What would everyone think? My feelings about my current life and my gender were all laid out there on paper for everyone to see. Thoughts like that juggled around in my head for weeks until I got the chance to watch the cast rehearse one night.
The director and cast took my pieces of rambling thoughts guided by prompts and turned them into something I was happy other people would get to see. That feeling was strengthened after they ran through my first piece and Director Sandi Holloway turned to me to ask if they captured it correctly. A simple question that let me know they were taking extra steps to care for everyone’s pieces, not just mine.
The rest of the time between then and the performance is just a blur. I had pretty much let go of my feelings around it and moved on to other things. Even on performance day I was relaxed and had a great time prepping and taking photos. My pieces were done and nobody was pointing and laughing at me.
At the end of the day, It was an amazing experience. Anxiety aside, I loved watching the process of how something I wrote was molded and brought to life on a stage, a feeling I imagine a lot of young people go through during YPT workshops and staged readings. And I can’t wait to get the chance to do it again … probably with more YPT prompts to help.
Great food, smiles, and laughs filled the night during YPT’s first Reels and Wheels drive-in movie fundraiser! With your help, YPT raised more than $18,000! Check out photos from throughout the night:
Since joining YPT last year, I’ve been focused on deepening our connection with our local Takoma Park community, especially after the significant disconnection caused by the pandemic.
Takoma Park is an amazing and diverse city, filled with interesting and eclectic stores, delicious restaurants, and wonderful, culturally and politically engaged people. When planning began for our spring fundraiser, I was determined to do a neighborhood event that was welcoming and fun for Takoma Park residents and would introduce them to the profound work and impact of YPT.
A drive-In movie seemed like a great idea to do something unique that allowed for social distancing and provided opportunities for fundraising and connection. So, on Friday, May 12, YPT hosted its first Reels and Wheels Drive-In Movie Fundraiser at the Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-Op.
More than 100 people of all ages came out to watch Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, a modern classic starring Whitney Houston, Brandy, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. This film was the first time the Cinderella story was adapted for a racially diverse cast, and Brandy affectionately became known as the unofficial “First Black Disney Princess.”
Perfect weather contributed to a glorious night filled with smiles, yummy food by Muoi Tieu and Jas & Fam Caribbean Flavor food trucks, and the chance to take pictures with Cinderella herself! Folks brought out their camp chairs and ate their fill of popcorn while watching a great movie under the stars.
Overall, the event raised more than $18,000 to support YPT’s mission of uplifting youth voices! Even more importantly, however, was that it brought YPT into the Takoma Park community, connecting us with residents, and giving us a chance to truly introduce ourselves to our neighbors after three long years of isolation.
I hope to have many more similar events in the future and am incredibly thankful to everyone who came out, donated, and helped make it happen. You made the impossible possible!
With gratitude,
Brenna Hill
YPT Development Director
The night starts jovial, and the air is light. Actors arrive one by one, wearing masks and filling the small table and kitchen area at the YPT office in Takoma, DC.
Silence is Violence: New Normal director Sandi Holloway arrives and after short greetings, everyone finds a place to sit inside the rehearsal space.
“Alright, let’s get started,” Holloway says and the air in the room almost instantly changes.
A sense of respect and seriousness for the actors’ process rushes into the room.
The cast begins trading lines, running a piece speaking to the gains, losses, dreams, and expectations people had before the pandemic and well into the future. Silence is Violence: New Normal MC Neko Ramos turns his ear toward the cast to listen and absorb the words and emotions. He gives the occasional nod as certain words pierce deeper than others.
They go over the piece multiple times, trying different arrangements here and there at Holloway’s direction before she looks around the room and says, “You all feel that? I think that’s the one.” They all agree and run through the scene one more time to lock in their feelings for the collective piece.
The cast is excused for a short time, leaving for the snacks and table set up in the YPT office near the air purifiers.
Holloway and Ramos begin tackling Ramos’ pieces for the performance, discussing the order he will speak and Ramos’ final written piece. He pulls out his phone and begins to read. Ramos’ passion gives off an almost palpable feeling – every word leaves you hanging on for more until he closes.
Holloway by now has closed her eyes to listen and once Ramos wraps, she looks at him and says, “That’s the middle.”
Silence is Violence: New Normal will be performed in-person and via simultaneous livestream at 7:30 pm April 17 at Prince George’s Community College: Center for Performing Arts.