 | Kara-Lynn Vaeni, a member of the artistic team for "Mystery and Mischief," watches a rehearsal with student playwright Niajah Manley. |
Original plays written by New Haven youths with guidance from Yale drama students will be presented in "Mystery and Mischief" at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, June 27 and 28, in the Off-Broadway Theatre, 41 Broadway.
Performances are free and open to the public.
The featured plays were written by participants in the Dwight/Edgewood Project, a community outreach program sponsored by the Yale Repertory Theatre and School of Drama that is modeled after New York City's 52nd Street Project. The project pairs 10 children aged 10-13 from the Dwight/Edgewood neighborhood in New Haven with drama school students, who serve as their mentors, to produce an evening of short two-character plays. Original music compositions with lyrics by the Dwight/Edgewood students and music by mentor David Nugent will also be included as part of the performances.
This year's four-week program began on June 2nd with a week of improvisation and theater games to develop the youths' creative minds without the pressure of writing. The motto for the week was "Improvisation Is Playmaking on Your Feet."
The second week of the program was led by 52nd Street artist and teacher Joshua Lewis, who led the students through that project's "Playmaking" course, where they learned the elements of writing a good play. At the end of the week, the students and mentors went on a retreat to Camp Wightman in Griswold, Connecticut, where the students wrote their own original plays.
Yale began the project in 1995 with the goal of creating positive, memorable experiences for youths and awakening them to their creative potential. The project aims to foster positive self-esteem, self-awareness and self-respect. The School of Drama mentors serve as role models for the youths and help them to produce their best work.
Student participants in this year's project include Rafael and Linda Cruz, Whitney Gibbs, Alivia Grate, Asia Griffin, Whitney Jordan, Niajah Manley, Rachel Kobasa, Jessenia Rodriguez and Bobby Simmons.
The School of Drama mentors include Sara Clement, Sarah Fornia, Marcus Gardley, Ryan King, LeRoy McClain, Jordan Mahome, David Nugent, Jami O'Brien, Tijuana Ricks, Sarah Treem and Jeff Withers.
The artistic team for the project includes drama school students Beth Morrison, executive director; Kara-Lynn Vaeni, associate executive director; Camille Assaf, set and costume designer; Sabrina McGuigan, sound and lighting designer.
The Dwight/Edgewood Project is funded by the Yale Repertory Theatre and School of Drama and the University's Office of New Haven and State Affairs.
For more information, call (203) 432-8425.
T H I S
City youths learn the fine art of playwriting
Tijuana Ricks, one of the drama student mentors in the Dwight/Edgewood Project, helps participant Linda Cruz create a prop for her play.
During the third and fourth weeks of the program, the focus is on rehearsing the plays and building the design elements. The young student playwrights will serve as assistant directors and assistant designers for their plays, and the Yale mentors will serve as the actors and directors.
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