Welcome to “Playwright Highlight” — your unique backstage move to the inventive minds crafting the unimaginable performs featured in our Theatrefolk catalogue. Uncover the magic, quirks, and genius of the playwrights who assist deliver the stage to life. Let’s meet one in all these distinctive playwrights who presents the possibility in your scholar performers to shine of their highlight.
What impressed you to start out writing performs particularly for highschool & center college college students?
I am the longtime scriptwriter for Residing Voices, an academic theatre firm that excursions all throughout North America with 12 totally different exhibits about historical past and social justice. 4 million highschool and center college college students have seen my work! It was a pure subsequent step to jot down performs for these college students to carry out themselves.
Are you able to share a bit about your inventive course of when creating performs that resonate with college students?
As a lot as potential, I contain younger individuals within the inventive course of: by improvement workshops, suggestions, and utilizing youth voices. My most up-to-date youth theatre play, The State of the College students, was created in collaboration with 143 younger individuals who replied to a questionnaire I posted on-line. The play is comprised fully of their phrases.
What themes or messages do you purpose to convey by your performs?
I am fascinated with themes and problems with social justice, gender, race, identification, and the way younger individuals are experiencing our world right now.
How do you stability schooling and enjoyable in your scripts?
Humor is vital! Even when a play offers with severe topics, there have to be moments of laughter.
Are you able to share a memorable expertise or suggestions from a scholar efficiency that left an influence on you?
“I by no means knew that different individuals thought or felt the best way I did, till I learn this play.”
Any recommendation for academics or administrators trying to decide on participating and age-appropriate performs for his or her scholar performers?
New performs! Do not hold doing the identical previous chestnuts or the identical 5 performs that each different theater division is doing. There are such a lot of nice playwrights on the market writing new performs for younger performers. And get your college students concerned within the play choice course of.
Anything you would like college students and/or administrators to learn about you as a playwright?
I really like customizing a script for a selected solid or group. I am at all times open to creating changes, so be at liberty to ask. And I really like seeing your manufacturing photographs whenever you share them! You’ll be able to see all of my different work right here.
