Children’s Legacy Theatre Announces 2023 Dates for Annual Young Playwright’s Project

May 11, 2023 |

Children’s Legacy Theater (CLT), the premier performing arts non-profit organization in Washington, DC, focused on training at-risk youth, announced the dates for this season’s performance of the Young Playwrights Project (YPP). The performance will be held on Friday and Saturday, May 26 – 27, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. at the Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Road SE, Washington, DC 20020.

YPP is an interactive, three-part playwriting experience designed for teens ages 14 to 18. It combines the best in-person and remote educational experiences to empower students to share their unique stories while developing their writing skills and learning about the theater arts. Performances are open to the public and consist of two 30-minute and one 10-minute play. Early bird tickets are $6 until May 1. After May 1, tickets are $10 for general admission.

YPP season one includes the following three plays: “Deeply Rooted,” written and directed by 18-year-old Maya Ward; “What Do You Expect, Standards?” written and directed by 15-year-old Drew Buchanan; “The Spirits of Aten,” written by 15-year -old Azhane Gilmore and directed by 14-year-old Damarion Wooten.

In these plays, student playwrights dug deep to share issues they struggle with or have trouble understanding. “The Young Playwrights Project allows our teens to address current events from their perspective. Often at-risk youth feel their voices don’t matter and that causes them to find other means to express their feelings. Through YPP and CLT, our youth are encouraged to use performing arts as tools to positively express their feelings,” said Joy Jones, trainer, performance poet and playwright.

YPP is inspired by the CLT’s “Ten Minute Play” festival and presented in the following three phases: 

  • Phase 1: Teaches students how to write a play, focusing on empowering the student imagination, learning the elements of a play, and using those elements to write plays that help students develop problem-solving skills.
  • Phase 2: Allows students to hear their plays read and acted out by an intergenerational volunteer team of play readers.
  • Phase 3: Students see a selection of plays, chosen from all student plays written that year, performed by the CLT Players.

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.childrenslegacytheatre8.org and scroll down to the Upcoming Events section on the home page.