![]() "Young Playwright For Life" by Manna-Symone Middlebrooks GENNE MURPHY was confident that she would become a professional writer even as a student at Central High School. However, what she hadn’t discovered yet was her voice as a playwright. Her first play, A Perfect Mother, was a winner in the 1999 Philadelphia Young Playwrights Festival. Outside of the work she’d done in class with teaching artist Ed Shockley, this was Genne’s first experience with theatre. She fell in love with the collaborative nature of theatre and the multiple ways in which it communicates with audiences and other artists. That love for collaborative art aided her decision to study playwriting and theatre in college, at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. In 2005, after college, Genne came back to Philadelphia and worked her way up from Office Manager to General Program Manager at Young Playwrights. During her time on staff, Genne learned about the function of a nonprofit arts organization and how to facilitate the learning and discussions centered around student voices that are at the core of PYP. In this time, her relationship with Glen Knapp developed and he became her mentor; that lead to Genne briefly serving as a guest Executive Director in 2014. Since then Genne has continued to establish herself as an artist and nonprofit arts professional. She has not only been accepted into Yale University’s M.F.A. playwriting program, but her play Giantess was selected as one of the pieces in the 2015 PlayPenn Conference. This highly selective conference invites only six playwrights each year to develop a piece through an in-depth series of workshops with a local director, dramaturge, designers, and actors. After the excitement of seeing the reading of Giantess, the PYPAC caught up with Genne to talk about the PlayPenn process and how much she has grown since beginning with PYP in 1999.
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![]() By Ethan Brunton 2014-15 Paula Vogel Mentors Project Fellow My name is Ethan Brunton. I’m an intermediate playwright and cartoonist. I started getting involved with Philadelphia Young Playwrights through their collaboration with Theatre Horizon, “Playwrighting and the Art of Storytelling”. It was a scriptwriting class for young adult Autistics and I got really invested into it. My first script wasn’t all that great but the second one, “Let’s Fly A Plane” got special attention. People loved it. I got to participate in Write On! and another festival in New Jersey (we had breakfast there). Eventually the announcement of the Paula Vogel Mentorship Program fell into my hands. I thought about it. Then I figured it would be a fun experience. And fun it was. I’ve been asked a few questions by one of my teachers, MR Stine, so here are my answers. MR: What did you learn from the PVMP? Ethan: Don’t be afraid to write what you love. MR: What were your expectations when you started? Ethan: To revamp my Waffle story, which is about an alien confectionary befriending a humanoid child with a fluctuating palette of super powers. I’ve written three scripts but I am still trying to write a consistent story within that universe. Everybody noticed the potential in it and I still want to make sure it exceeds those expectations. MR: How did you change from the beginning to the end of the PVMP? Ethan: As the Mentorship was about to begin, I met my mentor, P. Seth Bauer, and showed him some drawings I made so we could talk about them. The first ones he saw were face designs I made of the Greek Gods. We had fun talking about them again and again. Eventually we decided it would be fun to write an adaptation of one of the myths. So from there, I wrote a script that centered around Hades and Persephone. But I finished it sooner than expected. So, my mentor asked what other god I’d like to write about next. I chose Athena. Before I started, I didn’t know how to write female characters properly. Sometimes, I worried that I couldn’t write them with relatable or believable voices. The writing is a good opportunity to metaphorically punch some misogynists in the face. It made me want to do more of those kind of stories because I feel like I’ve only touched the surface with all the characters in mind, especially the gods. Every region of ancient Greece had their own interpretations of each myth, so there’s a lot of interesting ways to interpret each god’s personality. There’s just so much fun to be had. MR: How was your writing style affected by PVMP? Ethan: I came to understand the sense of conflict. I’ve also been given an opportunity to understand what purpose each character has. I still try to find ways to make most of them funny. The Paula Vogel Mentor Project helped me learn not to be afraid to speak my mind. The imagination is a powerful tool and I’m glad I have it at my disposal. Sure, I’m slow sometimes but as long as I’m confident with my work I shall never worry. "As long as I’m confident with my work I shall never worry." By Ethan Brunton, 2014-15 Paula Vogel Mentors Project Fellow Goofus is careless. Gallant is graceful. Goofus is mean. Gallant is friendly. Goofus is irresponsible. Gallant is trustworthy. These cartoons tell you how they fare in the scriptwriting business. ![]() by Ming Jiang It was a seven day long experience in LEAP, and it had become the best week of my life! I couldn't believe a-week-long program could be the turning point of my life! There were some points that I was never taught in school, but what I Learned from LEAP that changed my life were the following: goals, DISC, gratitude, and friendship. How to gain your confidence and lead you to success? Set a goal, and achieve it! During LEAP, we were asked to write down our goals on a sheet of paper that we could carry and read everyday. The goal requirements were to be "SIMple" which stood for "be Specific", "be Important", and "be Measurable". For example, one of my goals was "I want to finish my summer internship in the School District by August 31th, 2015, and be able to continue it on September 10th, 2015." I never noticed how different is what between thinking my goals through in my mind and as oppose to actually write down the goals on the paper. The goals in mind is passive and illusory, making it easy to betray my mind. However, write the goals down is a more active action, and I can remind myself what my goals are and remain faithful to my promise! After setting goals, the next step was to find our passion and purpose: why do I want to achieve this goal? what can I do in order to achieve my goal? The last step was to make actions! There was a quote I heard from LEAP that impressed me most: "The secret to success is no secret! It's called worked your butt off and find a way to add more value to your and others' live!" |
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