|
News Releases 
On Stage, In Their Own Words ... CTC's Write Now! Program Turns Minnesota Students into Playwrights 
For Immediate Release: January 19, 2005
WHO:
The Children's Theatre Company (CTC), the nation's leading theater for young people and families, recipient of the 2004 National Governors Association Award for Distinguished Service to State Government in the field of Artistic Production and recipient of the 2003 Tony® Award for Best Regional Theater.
WHAT:
In order to create an opportunity for young people to express themselves through theatre, The Children's Theatre Company (CTC), in partnership with the Philadelphia Young Playwrights (PYP), developed a playwriting program for middle school students called Write Now! During the first half of the 2004-2005 school year, Write Now! teaching artists went into Greater Minnesota and Metro area schools to build playwriting skills in young people through multiple weeklong residencies. In January, students will get to see and hear their work performed by professional actors in staged readings.
In August 2004 CTC's teaching artists Janet Allard, Maria Asp, Matthew Howe and Gregory Smith, along with their partner classroom teachers, received training from PYP staff in engaging children to write scripts. For one week in September the teaching artists went into the classrooms and lead workshops in the various aspects of writing a play: plot outlining, character development, etc. The classroom teacher then took over the workshops as the students continued to develop their own plays. The teaching artist returned in November for another week of workshops, this time focusing on revision and editing. In December the students polished their plays and the classroom teachers decided which selections would be showcased as part of the staged readings.
In mid January the selected readings (approximately 10 minutes each of five or six plays) will be performed by CTC Company members Gerald Drake, Dean Holt, Autumn Ness and Reed Sigmund as well as three actors from the University of Minnesota and the Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program: Adam Yazbeck, Melissa Anne Murphy and Kendyl Watson, under the direction of CTC staff members Gregory Smith, Matthew Howe and Peter Brosius. The staged readings in front of school assemblies, with an additional evening performance in Red Wing at The Sheldon Theatre.
WHERE & WHEN:
- Princeton Middle School
Friday, Jan. 14 school assemblies at 9:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.
- Ramsey International Fine Arts Magnet School, Minneapolis
Tuesday, Jan. 18 school assembly at 11:00 a.m.
- Hutchinson Middle School
Wednesday, Jan. 19 school assembly at 1:00 p.m.
- Twin Bluff Middle School, Red Wing
Thursday, Jan. 20 school assembly at 1:00 p.m.
- The Sheldon Theatre, Red Wing
Thursday, Jan. 20 Public Performance at 7:00 p.m.
- Hazel Park Middle School Academy, St. Paul
Friday, Jan. 21 school assembly at 9:30 a.m.
Back to News & Reviews
|
