Archives: Videos

For a digital program, visit: yptdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/YPIPProgram.pdf

About the Performances and Artists

Honey Island by Yisrael Robinson

Yisrael is a senior BFA Acting major at Howard University from Tucson, Arizona. A performer, choreographer, and emerging writer, Yisrael is passionate about using the arts to explore human experience and connection. Drawn to storytelling for its power to inspire reflection and spark meaningful change, he views the stage and page as spaces where voices can be amplified, and communities can be moved toward greater understanding.

Honey Island features master’s student Luke as he deals with the masks he believes he needs to be successful, before inheriting a piece of property left to him by an ancestor. The spirit of this ancestor visits him and helps him learn to be himself and love the person he is, rather than pretend to be a person he thinks others want him to be.

The Weight of Inheritance by Jaden Michael Madgett

Jaden is a native Houstonian currently studying acting at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University. He is honored to debut his one-man show with YPT and is endlessly grateful for the opportunity. Jaden is a two-time Owen Dodson Award recipient for his performances in Word Becomes Flesh (2024) and Sonnets and Soul (2024), recognizing his commitment to disciplined craft and expressive storytelling.

The Weight of Inheritance tells the story of a young, Black actor auditioning for a stereotyped role as he struggles to find work. He internally debates whether to walk out of the audition or to follow through before he is visited by the spirits of Sidney Poitier and Melvin Van Peebles, who help guide him through his decision.

B Series Timeline by Tabitha Rose

Tabitha is a graduating Acting major at Howard University, celebrated for her versatility, magnetic stage presence, and lifelong passion for storytelling. From her first school performances to the Howard stage, she’s honed a craft that bridges theater, film, and movement arts. Her credits include The Wizard of Oz, Hairspray, Boys Don’t Cry, Daniel Beaty’s Emergency, and the films Dearly Beloved and 4Lifers.

B Series Timeline features a young choreographer on her way to an audition. She struggles with emotional conflicts that ultimately affect her performance, but through a spiritual guide, she learns that self-love and acceptance are the best road to a prosperous future.

About Young Playwrights in Progress

Young Playwrights in Progress (YPIP) is an opportunity for young, early-career playwrights aged 14 – 24 to engage in a script-development and workshop process of original, not-yet-produced one-act or full-length plays with Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT). With the help of a reading committee of theater practitioners, YPT selects playwrights to engage in our YPIP program.

For a digital program, visit: yptdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/YPIPProgram.pdf

About the Performances and Artists

Honey Island by Yisrael Robinson

Yisrael is a senior BFA Acting major at Howard University from Tucson, Arizona. A performer, choreographer, and emerging writer, Yisrael is passionate about using the arts to explore human experience and connection. Drawn to storytelling for its power to inspire reflection and spark meaningful change, he views the stage and page as spaces where voices can be amplified, and communities can be moved toward greater understanding.

Honey Island features master’s student Luke as he deals with the masks he believes he needs to be successful, before inheriting a piece of property left to him by an ancestor. The spirit of this ancestor visits him and helps him learn to be himself and love the person he is, rather than pretend to be a person he thinks others want him to be.

The Weight of Inheritance by Jaden Michael Madgett

Jaden is a native Houstonian currently studying acting at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University. He is honored to debut his one-man show with YPT and is endlessly grateful for the opportunity. Jaden is a two-time Owen Dodson Award recipient for his performances in Word Becomes Flesh (2024) and Sonnets and Soul (2024), recognizing his commitment to disciplined craft and expressive storytelling.

The Weight of Inheritance tells the story of a young, Black actor auditioning for a stereotyped role as he struggles to find work. He internally debates whether to walk out of the audition or to follow through before he is visited by the spirits of Sidney Poitier and Melvin Van Peebles, who help guide him through his decision.

B Series Timeline by Tabitha Rose

Tabitha is a graduating Acting major at Howard University, celebrated for her versatility, magnetic stage presence, and lifelong passion for storytelling. From her first school performances to the Howard stage, she’s honed a craft that bridges theater, film, and movement arts. Her credits include The Wizard of Oz, Hairspray, Boys Don’t Cry, Daniel Beaty’s Emergency, and the films Dearly Beloved and 4Lifers.

B Series Timeline features a young choreographer on her way to an audition. She struggles with emotional conflicts that ultimately affect her performance, but through a spiritual guide, she learns that self-love and acceptance are the best road to a prosperous future.

About Young Playwrights in Progress

Young Playwrights in Progress (YPIP) is an opportunity for young, early-career playwrights aged 14 – 24 to engage in a script-development and workshop process of original, not-yet-produced one-act or full-length plays with Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT). With the help of a reading committee of theater practitioners, YPT selects playwrights to engage in our YPIP program.

Voices Unbarred Community Advocate Dev D’Ryan returned to the YPT stage at Busboys and Poets Takoma in Washington, DC on March 15th, collaborating on Silence is Violence: Liberation, a multi-performance event inviting youth and adult audience members to explore liberation and self-mastery.

Dresses That Twirl explores the relationship between two teenage girls and their mothers living in the 1960s. The girls must make difficult decisions about how to maintain their dynamic when the scrutiny of their world and their mothers’ past threatens to break them apart. This reading is the culmination of a one-week workshopping process with Artistic Director Farah Lawal Harris, Productions Manager Keta Newborn, and a cast of professional actors.

Digital Program

Dresses That Twirl explores the relationship between two teenage girls and their mothers living in the 1960s. The girls must make difficult decisions about how to maintain their dynamic when the scrutiny of their world and their mothers’ past threatens to break them apart. This reading is the culmination of a one-week workshopping process with Artistic Director Farah Lawal Harris, Productions Manager Keta Newborn, and a cast of professional actors.

The artists of Silence is Violence: Liberation returned to the stage at Busboys and Poets Takoma in Washington, DC on March 15th. Moderated by YPT Artistic Director Farah Lawal Harris, the group answered questions about liberation, their processes, and the messages of their pieces.

Riot: The Beat of Freddie Gray is a powerful and engaging solo performance taking the audience on a journey through the life and memories of Freddie Gray, told from the perspective of two characters: Freddie Gray and Ty, a middle school student who witnessed Freddie’s murder. Continue reading “Riot: The Beat of Freddie Gray by Ty’Ree Hope Davis”

After a public live-reading of Dresses That Twirl, 2023-24 Young Playwright in Progress Amira Al Amin and the crew took questions from the audience. Dresses That Twirl chronicles the platonic and eventual romantic relationship between two teenage girls living in the 1960s. The girls must make difficult decisions about how to maintain their dynamic when the scrutiny of their world threatens to break them apart.

YPT Teaching Artist Fabiolla Da Silva recounts some stories and experiences working with students at Brookland Middle School during the 2023-24 school year!