YPT Student Advisory Council member Edwin Martinez was recently challenged by one of his cousins while he was trying to raise money for a new school to get YPT programming. “Are the arts really that important?” his cousin asked. Edwin decided to share with all of his cousins the importance of the artistry he sees in their diverse talents and interests. This is what he wrote to them.

Donald, you are an artist. I have seen your drawings on your wall; a pencil in your hands brings out life to a single piece of paper.

Bryan, you are an artist. The way you touch the strings on your guitar as you are singing an endearing song.

Sammy, you are an artist. The way you play the piano, it gives you control of the emotion that you want to set in the room, from “Everybody Loves Raymond” theme song to your own composition.

Jose, you are an artist. The way you throw kicks in the air ever so swiftly, but with it comes a great deal of force.

Ryan, you are an artist. The way you and your group of band mates gather together to create a symphony.

Jessica, you are an artist. The time and focus put forth in creating a glamorous design on each nail.

Osmin, you are an artist. The way you use your words and gestures to pick up women and make them think that you are their “Romeo”.

Luis, you are an artist. The tactical skills you display on a mat show no bounds.

The arts are very important. It instills confidence and originality, which is critical for kids who feel that they are worth nothing. It opens a door to a world unimaginable, a world filled with opportunities.

Edwin Martinez
YPT Alumnus & Student Advisory Council Member

And, finally, we’ve got our Big Project. Yes, it’s that important, it deserves capital letters. In the last few months, we’ve put our heads together and we’ve come up with something cool, a fundraising campaign for a pretty great YPT cause. It involves infomercials, the Internet and hopefully, down the road, $3,000 dollars. Sound exciting yet?

With our theme being a YPT commercial of sorts, we decided to film a video to spread the word about our campaign. A few weeks, some large cue cards, a number of very low camera batteries and many, many takes and laughs later, we had our video, and now you have it too! We also have our clever donation station set up on a website called Razoo.

We’re doing all this to raise $3,000 by June 12 to help Amidon-Bowen Elementary School, a school in D.C. that has been on YPT’s waitlist for two years. With our campaign, we’ll help classrooms at Amidon-Bowen receive the beneficial and fun In-School Playwriting Program. A number of us on the Student Advisory Council are In-School Program alums, were featured in the New Play Festival, and know what an amazing experience YPT can bring to a school. Students in it who may not have even known how much fun playwriting can be til YPT came and showed them the ropes.

So, if this is something you’d want to help with, you can donate by June 12 via the handy online donator. You can watch our video and imagine it with us bursting into cheers every successful take. We’re so glad to be able to be involved in getting YPT to even more students, and we thank you for helping us.

Nana Gongadze
YPT Alumna and Student Advisory Council Member

Like most writers reading and writing are a passion, so when I was told that YPT was coming to my school all that ran through me were ideas. These ideas included a love story, a twisted story, and even a story about two elves. However as the weeks went by and the deadline came closer, I felt stuck in a writer’s block. This block felt so solid that it was hard for me to even put Act One, Scene One on my paper. Being in this position, I didn’t realize the teaching artist, Mr. Enrico, for my class had mentioned that the first draft only had to be a few pages. Not listening to that, I wrote ten pages in one night. It does not seem like a lot to many, but with writer’s block it’s one of the most difficult things to accomplish. Yet something that night did push me to ensure my play was sent in as ten pages.

Other than completing my ten-page madness in one night, my number one proudest moment throughout this entire writing process would be the moment I started revising it even after receiving my grade for it in English class. It’s my proudest moment because that’s where I realized, “Hey, this isn’t just a grade anymore; it’s actually my piece, my work, my idea being read by other people who actually want to read it.” It was a sense of accomplishment and pride all at the same time. Writing this play made me feel ready for a next challenge. I have probably written over 60 essays in my life, but none of them compare to the passion I have for my play.

Once I realized my play was nominated to be in the festival, I was very excited. I was even more excited when I was informed that it had been chosen as one of the finalists. I felt as if it were more of an nervous, excited, anxious, yet happy feeling that I feel every one should experience at one point. If you have a passion for writing or even have a great imagination, I suggest YPT for you because it really does push your imagination on paper to make it come alive.

Jhoselin Beltran
New Play Festival Featured Playwright

Learn more about the 2013 New Play Festival plays and playwrights on our website!

When my teacher said that YPT was coming, I was so excited. I really wanted to write a play. We learned a lot about playwriting from [YPT teaching artist] Mr. Enrico. When I started writing my play, I was wondering what it should be about. Mr. Enrico said to think about things that have happened to you or things that you have created. I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to have a play about environmentalism? So I wrote about a nature guide who had an exciting conflict. Mr. Enrico gave us ideas about how to improve our plays and how to show what we wanted to say by writing.

When I started writing I wanted there to be a guy who would save the tortoises in the Galápagos Islands, so that was my main character. Then I thought there had to be someone who wanted to harm the animals, so he was my antagonist. I developed my play around the conflict between these two characters. Then came the day when Mr. Enrico said he was going to collect the stories. I was nervous about my play because I didn’t know if he would like it.

One day some actors from YPT came to our class. They presented a tiny part of each play. I liked the plays and at the end of the day Mr. Enrico announced the four New Play Festival finalists from our school. When he said my name I was so happy and really excited! An interesting thing is that he also said my twin sister’s name, so we were both finalists from our school!

A couple of weeks later, my mom got a phone call from YPT with some great news. My sister and I both moved up to the final round! A few days later we got another call that my sister’s play would be read at the kickoff party and my play would be produced in the spring! It was a very exciting day.

After the celebration with all the finalists, I started working with my dramaturge, Mr. Enrico. So far my play has improved a lot. It is really helpful to work with him because he notices things and gives me ideas. For example, he helped me develop my characters and also he said I could use some Spanish in my play since it happens in Ecuador. He asks me a lot of questions to help me think about what should happen in my play. It is really fun working with Mr. Enrico!

Learn more about the 2013 New Play Festival plays and playwrights on our website!

“I’m still in awe of everything — the power of Paula’s inspiration, the amazing number of people supporting YPT, the stunningly decorated space, the delicious food, the stupendous sounds of Suspicious Package!” – YPT Board Member and Chair of the Giving Voice Award Gala Committee Essence Newhoff

“The YPT Gala was an amazing night of celebration and fun for all!  Thank you to our growing YPT family, friends, generous donors and supporters for making it such an awesome success!  We look forward to your continued support in bringing the magic of YPT’s arts education to more students in our local youth community and giving them an opportunity to share their ideas, dreams and creative voice through the inspiring art of playwriting.” – YPT Board Member Karen Kok

“What a great night!  YPT’s first Giving Voice Gala was a hit. It was a gala weekend with Paula Vogel as our Giving Voice award recipient. Paula attended several YPT events over the weekend:  meeting with DC theater enthusiasts, working with our talented YPT students on a writing workshop, and receiving her award at the Gala on the 9th. It was an incredible celebration and show of support for YPT’s award winning arts education programming. Also, the gala offered out-of-this-world food, amazing live music (the band, Suspicious Package, starring our own board member, Bryan Greene) and a fun silent auction!  Congrats to the entire YPT team for making the weekend a huge success, and to all the donors, sponsors and attendees who are helping to ensure that YPT continues its important work to improve the quality of education for DC area students.” – Miriam Gonzales, Chair of the YPT Board

YPT…
A place of kindness
A place of acceptance
A place of inspiration
A place of admiration
A place of laughter
A place where no one is the master.
A place where everyone’s ideas count
A place where you are free to shout!
A place where collaboration is key
A place where I am free to be me
A place where you are not alone
A place where you aren’t afraid of the unknown
A place where everyone is family
A place where you are free to lose your sanity
A place where you are part of a whole
A place where you are pushed to write more
Invest in YPT and you are allowing me to
keep this small place I call home.

- Reyna Rios

My heart breaks for the voices that were silenced on that awful day in Newtown, Connecticut. Faced with this tragedy, I could not help but also think of my own students, the members of the Young Playwrights’ Workshop. They too are a community of learners, they too are young people with something vital to contribute to our society. I invited my students to write letters to the Newtown community in the hopes that their words could be of some small comfort, that they could use their artistic gifts to shine some small light in the face of such terrible darkness.

Below are some of the thoughts they wanted to share.

–Nicole

“This is a week filled with sorrow, a week that will be remembered. On Friday, December 14, 2012 around 9:00am, a man went into a school and took the lives of twenty beautiful angels. My heart goes out to all the people in Newtown, but especially to the parents. This deranged man may have taken the lives of your children, but he will never remove the cherished moments each of you spent with them.”
-Edwin

“I am deeply sorry for your loss. I know that it hurts to know that maybe some of your friends, siblings, or teachers were taken away from you in this tragic event. I just want you to know that they are not gone. They are still with you in spirit. Their lives and legacy are still alive. May God bless you and help you in this time of need.”
-Maxwell

“I haven’t lost a child or anyone in a shooting, but I know how it is to lose someone. I don’t know how hard it is for you but just know that the whole community who saw the news knows about your loss. Your child will always be remembered.”
-Morena

“I write this letter to all the parents who have lost their children to try to give my support to you here from Washington, DC. All I can say is that I am sorry for what happened because no one deserves what they did to your kids.”
-Claudia

“We are here today recovering from a horrible incident that has occurred. The environment that feeds the young innocent lives, where the beginning of education starts to exist, is now suffering from the loss of many whom we all are mourning on the inside for. We all deeply apologize for the loss of so many and the pain you must be suffering from.”
-Jardel

“I understand how it feels to lose someone very close to you. It really hurts, I know…You have to keep staying strong and keep yourself going. Always keep your loved ones in your heart and keep going in life.”
-Chris

“I just wanted to say some words that came from my heart. I just want to say that…I heard what happened in the city of Newtown, Connecticut, in the school Sandy Hook Elementary…I know it’s not easy for none of you: parents, husbands, friends, families. Losing someone you cared and known for quite a while…I’m sorry and may God bless you.”
- (Student preferred to be anonymous)

“As the days roll by and the years become old you will realize that the people you lost would have not have left you but are still there right beside you always…Be hopeful because when the day comes you will realize that the world is vast and there are many others who share your pain. Be strong, Connecticut.”
-Kamaria

“It hurts me so bad that I can’t do anything in my power to commiserate with the families of the loved ones. Even though I don’t know what you guys must be feeling, I can understand. I just wish that nothing else like this ever happens. We will all be praying with you guys and wish you all the best.”
-Bernadet Assesfa

We’ve already received some amazing plays from YPT’s super creative community. Check out these teasers below, including this touching play sent to us from our Young Playwrights’ Workshop alumna, Reyna Rios:

I LOVE YOU

Jasmine: Hi, (shakes Martin’s his hand) my name is Jasmine Belen Martinez. People say that I am different, but I like to see that as a positive thing. I am always doing crazy things to show people how much I love and care about them.

Martin: But you don’t know me, dear Jasmine. I am just Martin Jackson, a homeless man that is invisible to everyone around me.  How do you expect me to believe that you love    someone like me?

Jasmine: Well let me show you that I do. Please say “yes?” (to be continued on December 21st!)

Or your play can be a comedy, like this one submitted by our newest board member, Catherine Crum, written with some of her friends (5-line plays can be a group effort!)

“URINE TROUBLE”: A PLAY IN ONE ACT

(two girls sit at desks.  a teacher hovers in the background.)

Girl A: (whispers) I have to pee so bad!

Girl B: Girl, you know you can’t leave during the SAT!

Teacher (slapping a ruler in his hand):  If you two continue discussing answers, you will be asked to leave, you will never go to college and you will end up playing the electric cello for pennies …

(Will she finish her SAT? Visit our YouTube channel on December 21st to find out!)

Did these great plays give you some ideas of your own? There’s still time!

Donate $25 or more before Friday and submit an original 5-line play, and you’ll get to see your play performed on YouTube.  We’re calling in the most talented artists we know – our students – to turn the tables on our supporters and bring YOUR words to life.  Plays can be funny, serious, dramatic, touching, satirical or just plain weird!  There are no wrong answers, and no idea is too crazy!  For complete challenge rules, click here.

Stuck on that first line? We know it can be hard to get started, so we went to our award-winning student ensemble for help! The Young Playwrights’ Workshop’s original plays have been featured in the Capital Fringe Festival and Intersections Festival, and will be seen in the 2013 Source Festival, so they know a thing or two about playwriting, and they agreed to share their own words of wisdom:

“Use current events! Take a piece of reality and make it fun!” – Edwin

“Never say you can’t do it. All plays start with weird ideas.” – Patricio

“Take your time. Think of a long term character, if one is used.” – Maxwell

“No matter how hard it is to think of what to write, keep it going. Don’t stop.” – Chris

“Think outside the box. Think of something only your true self can write.” – Jardel

“Live your mind and express it all.” – Chris

“Agarra tu papel y pon toda tu pasión y también has lo como que enserio fuera real, lo que tu estas actuando.” – Claudia

“Get silly” – Morena

Click here now to make your donation of $25 or more to support YPT’s fall fundraising campaign, and send your 5-line play by 5pm on Friday, December 14^th to abeyrle@yptdc.org.

Thank you, as always, for your support. Our students can’t wait to perform your plays!

YPT couldn’t ask for better supporters. Over the years, you’ve packed houses at performances, participated in our online contests, joined the conversation on Facebook, gotten 15 to give 15, and run an 8k for us, all helping us grow to serve almost 2,000 students throughout the DC region each year. But demand for YPT’s programs grows, we do not currently have the capacity to reach all the students on our waiting list. That’s where you come in.

Our students really want you to say yes to them … so they’re going to say yes to you.

We’ve seen how YPT has impacted our alums as they’ve gone on to study everything from theater to business to neuroscience, and we think everyone should get the opportunity to be a playwright. So here’s your chance!

Now through December 14th, donate $25 or more to YPT and send us an original 5-line play, and our students will perform YOUR play.

Here’s how it works:

1) Donate $25 or more to YPT here or mail your check, made out to Young Playwrights’ Theater, to 2437 15th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009.

2) Write a 5-line play and email it to abeyrle@yptdc.org by 5pm on December 14, 2012.

3) YPT elementary school students will rehearse and perform your play in their classroom and YPT staff will film it.

4) On December 21, YPT will post all the plays on our YouTube channel.

5) Share your play with your family and friends and show your support for arts education and our students!

Your donation will help YPT say YES to new classrooms and shrink our waiting list, helping more students discover the power of their voices and stories through playwriting. And to thank you, YPT students will share YOUR story with the world.

Play Guidelines:

1) Your play must be no more than five lines.

2) Your play must have two characters.

3) You must use the phrase “say yes” somewhere within the play.

4) Plays will be performed by elementary school students, so age-appropriate language and subject material please!

5) Your play must be submitted to abeyrle@yptdc.org by December 14, accompanied by a donation of $25 or more to support YPT’s fall fundraising campaign.

Tips:  Use your favorite books, movies or even pop culture as inspiration (age-appropriate please). Include a conflict! Think outside the box! As we’ve seen from our students’ plays, even inanimate desk objects can become vivid characters. There are no wrong answers, and no idea is too crazy!

Help YPT make our holiday fundraising campaign our biggest ever, and show our students that anyone can be a playwright. Click below to make your donation and get started!

Need inspiration?  Here are some examples!

Inspired by The Book and the Restless by Aayanna Collier (featured in YPT’s 2012 New Play Festival and 2012 Express Tour)

The Book and the Restless: The Proposal

BENJAMIN: Annie, will you marry me?

ANNIE: Oh Benjamin! I really want to say yes … but before I do I need to tell you something … something that I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time …

BENJAMIN: What is it?  Are you in love with Manny? (Annie shakes head) A Geography Goon?  (Shakes head)  Perry?  (Shakes head) Then what? What could possibly stop us from living happily ever after in the fairy tale section?

ANNIE: I … I think I want to become a vegetarian.

BENJAMIN: (Faints)

The 5-Line Play: Can It Be Done?

NO: Say, Yes?

YES: What?

NO: Will you help me write this five-line play? I really want to help YPT serve more students and see my play on YouTube!

YES: No.

NO: HA! THE END!

Still stuck? We’re here to help! For updates, inspiration and playwriting tips be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter throughout December!

Thank you, as always, for your amazing support.  We can’t wait to read your plays!

We reached out to playwright Julie Kashmanian recently to talk about the upcoming Express Tour Showcase performance of her play,

***************************************************

My experience with YPT started with me pitifully struggling to come up with a plot idea that I could plausibly write a play about. Now, almost a year later, it’s just a week from the day I will see my play produced for the second time onstage, and I can’t really believe it.

The Monday after Thanksgiving is the date of YPT’s Express Tour Showcase performance, featuring a cast of insanely talented professional actors and four family-friendly plays written by local students. These plays were written as part of YPT’s in-school programs to give voice to young people through the art of playwriting.  Last April I attended YPT’s New Play Festival—the first time that these Express Tour plays were performed—and I was awed by the creativity and ability of both the other playwrights and the actors. I am so grateful to YPT that my play was one of the 12 performed, and the experience of watching my play brought to life onstage for the first time was one that I will never forget.

It’s shocking to think that soon I will have the opportunity to watch my play produced again by the same brilliant company who first animated the words that I was so not confident about. All I can say is, thank you to YPT for giving kids a chance to express themselves through and learn about playwriting.  I hope that you can join them on Monday, November 26, 7:30 pm, at GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC, to see why the work that YPT does is so important. Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Playwriting, and keep on supporting YPT!

Julie Kashmanian
YPT Playwright

Acumen Solutions Race for a Cause™ is officially one month away!  We can’t wait to run with all our friends and supporters on October 14th!

As we enter the final stretch, we’ve recruited the ultimate trainer – our very own Supergirl, YPT’s 8k team leader and star of our recent reality show training video! Supergirl was created by student playwright Dakota Wenberg in her play A Jewel of Date, which was produced in our 2011 New Play Festival and Express Tour. We asked Dakota to bring Supergirl back to help motivate our walkers and runners by sharing her training regimen, and guess what … while Supergirl may be leading all our hardcore 8k competitors, she started out just like everyone else.

 Check out Supergirl’s hilarious and inspirational journey from “Supersoregirl” to race-ready, as imagined by Dakota. Then don’t forget to register for the race on October 14 and support YPT! As Supergirl reminds us, “real superheroes aren’t about winning; they are about helping others in superhuman ways!”

Hey everybody!

It’s Supergirl here, ready to get you excited about the upcoming Acumen Solutions Race for a Cause! I will be helping my friends at YPT raise money for their programs. You can follow my progress as I get ready to run hard this fall.

Day 1 – I woke up this morning to the ring of my home phone. I picked it up and who should it be but my friend Laurie down at YPT. She came to me with an urgent plea for a superhero to lead the charge in Acumen Solutions’ Race for a Cause. I immediately agreed. Unfortunately only after I put down the phone did I realize exactly what I had signed up for. I had to run; dad taught me to fly not run. This was going to be much more difficult than I had expected. So who was I supposed to turn to for help? Who was insane enough to run every day up and down brutal hills while torturing their every muscle in their bodies? Who would willfully submit themselves to miles of endless scenery and pain on foot? Then it hit me, like a baseball. I reached for my phone and started dialing furiously. There was only one solution to my problem, the Cross Country team.

Day 2 – 5:30 AM. Sunrises are overrated. Sweat and pain takes all the beauty out of it. The things they don’t tell you at the beginning of practice could fill an entire three part series. For instance wheezing and shortness of breath are not considered signs of a pending heart attack. I had no idea the team was made up of Flash wannabes, I just wanted to finish the race, they wanted to sprint for 5 kilometers or so I gathered from their training regime. You would think that stopping running would stop the pain, but no, it only starts a new cycle of discomfort. I see a hot bath in my future.

Day 3 – 5:30 AM. I can’t do it, I won’t go, they can’t make me. I’m going to hide. Yeah like I’m going back there again. Supergirl? More like Supertiredgirl, Supersoregirl, and Superstupidforsigningupforthisgirl. I made the mistake of telling dad about my promise to YPT and he’s determined to make me go. Right now I’m hiding under the sink in desperate hope that the metal will throw my father’s x-ray vision off. Shh. I hear him coming…. ACK! Caught, think fast. Oh yeah . . . Why am I under the sink?  . . . I was just checking up on the pipes dad! Gotta run.

Day 15 – 5:30 am. I fear that I may have scared my readers off with my apocalyptic tales of running, but now that it’s been about two weeks I’m starting to get the hang of it. My muscles don’t hurt anymore and I can run faster than I ever have before. I’ve elevated my expectations, and I no longer want to simply finish the race, but I want to kick some hiney. I am no longer staggering into the locker room ten minutes after everybody has showered and gone home. The coaches have stopped giving me those sad sympathetic eyes. I remember when dad took me on my first around the world flying trip, it took two hours and twenty minutes, and we almost hit Everest (navigation error a.k.a. dad refused to ask for direction when we got blown off course at the Tien Shan Mountains.) I never thought running could give you the same high as flying. I love this!!!

Day 29 – 8:30 PM. I’ve got ten minutes to lights out. Tomorrow is race day and I need my sleep. Today I pounded carbs all the way up until the big team pasta dinner. Unfortunately I had forgotten what a super human appetite I have and before I knew what was going on I had downed half a pan of baked ziti and two loaves of garlic bread. Lucky for me I blended in with my teammates just fine — have you seen how much teenagers eat?  I am in perfect shape, I am ready. I will win.

Day 30- 5:43 AM. Coach told me I could sleep in until 6:30 before the race but I can’t seem to shake off something Dad said to me last night as I was getting ready to sleep.  He reminded me that real superheroes aren’t about winning; they are about helping others in superhuman ways – like the super organizations that will benefit from Acumen Solutions Race for a Cause.  I let my ambition get the best of me.  Today is not about being number one – today is about helping others be the best they can be.  Today we sweat for others.  Tomorrow they lead us to new superhero heights.

Don’t forget to register for the race by October 11th!  We can’t wait to see you on the 14th!