![]() PYP Alum, Pascale Smith, set to have her play, Oh My Darling, premiere at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center.My first production at Fordham Lincoln Center is coming up very soon! It’s a new play of mine called “Oh My Darling,” and it runs November 11th-13th. I’m working with an amazing director named Patrick McNulty, as well as some incredible student actors and designers. I’m so excited to share it with everyone, and it would mean a lot if you could come to one of the performances!
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![]() By: Emma O’Neill-Dietal (Masterman High School/9th Grade) Last weekend I went to Baltimore to see a performance of Dance of the Holy Ghosts, written by my mentor Marcus Gardley. Marcus wasn’t there but it was an incredible experience nonetheless. Dance of the Holy Ghosts is a play about a man who tries to hide from his past, which is riddled with misdeeds, but also times of love and happiness. He succeeds at keeping to himself until his grandson comes to visit and his past comes rushing back. The play is a collection of snapshots from the man’s memories and those of his daughter and grandson, interspersed with the man’s interaction with his grandson during the visit. Together, the memories weave a beautiful, poignant, sad, but at times, funny story. It tells of the family and how each person chose to move on from tragedy and deal with unwanted memories they are forced to confront. Dance of the Holy Ghosts was truly amazing and very inspiring for me as a writer. The writing was very poetic and all of the dialogue flowed perfectly. Smooth, realistic dialogue is something I have been striving towards in my own writing, so it was very helpful for me to see a play in which the dialogue was so perfectly formed. Marcus also incorporated music into his play. I love musicals, but including music into one of my own plays something I have pondered occasionally but have been quite scared of exploring. Marcus’s play encouraged me to look into adding a little bit of music into a play in the future. Seeing Dance of the Holy Ghosts was a wonderful experience and gave me many new ideas that I will continue to think about as I write my PVMP play this year. Paula Vogel Mentors Project is made by possible by the generous support of the Independence Foundation New Theatre Works Initiative, the Nessa Forman (& Family) Fund at The Philadelphia Foundation, and Honorary Producers, Virginia & Harvey Kimmel.
![]() Greetings Friends and Colleagues, I’m thrilled to invite you to the launch of the SUN RA Visitation Series Thursday, November 14th at 9:30pm starring the Burnt Sugar Arkestra, led by Greg Tate. This begins a series of dates at Joe’s Pub exploring the lives, tunes, and afrofuturist dimensions of avant-garde bandleader Sun Ra. These gigs, in preparation for a 2015 run at LaMaMa E.T.C., will feel like festive jazz concerts featuring text breakouts, an 11 piece jazz band, flying things, and some funky hats, currently in development. The spirit of Sun Ra touches down in the east village! An evening of conjuration and fabulation led by director Charlotte Brathwaite pairing text from Sylvan Oswald’s award-winning play SUN RA with live music from the Burnt Sugar Arkestra. Costumes and cosmic properties by Abigail DeVille and Machine Dazzle. Lights by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew. Performances by Hubert Point-Du Jour and Ayesha Ngaujah. Graphics by Nontsikelelo Mutiti. Produced by Anne Erbe in advance of our 2015 run at La MaMa E.T.C. Supported by a Jerome Foundation Travel Grant. Tix on sale now for 11/14! http://www.joespub.com/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,40/id,6990 Check out our event page for more info about Sun Ra: https://www.facebook.com/events/229190917246386/ Next series date: January 9, 2014. Mia Weathers, Programs Intern (Science Leadership Academy/11th Grade)
About a week and a half ago in history class we were told that we would be attending the New Voices Student Matinee performances. My teacher, Mr.Block, told us that these performances would give us an idea of what we would soon be working on. Science Leadership Academy, along with many other schools is participating in a playwriting residency, wherein everyone in our class will be creating our own original plays. I couldn’t help but think that the plays we were going to be watching would be typical “high school plays,” plays that would only show the most juvenile issues of our day. Something like: boy meets girl, girl likes boy, they fall in “love”, they break up, etc. I have never been more excited to say that I was completely off base. The plays that I was so fortunate to see that day were brilliant! I was so impressed that the plays touched on themes such as ignorance, friendship, self-knowledge, and dealing with conditions beyond your control. What was even more amazing was that all of the plays were written by people my age. At some point recently they were in my shoes with just an idea. Seeing the successes of your peers really makes you think about what you can accomplish yourself. That, to me, is the most important part of showing these plays to other students. It’s as if the playwrights are saying, “I wrote this great piece of work, and so can you!” In high school we are mostly told of all the opportunities we will have later in life. PYP gives us something to achieve now which is really encouraging. After the performances (3 plays and 1 monologue) there was a talk back with all of the actors and two of the playwrights. I should start off by saying that I love talk backs! It’s not very often that you get to pick the brains of people who have accomplished your goals. As an aspiring actor and maybe playwright I put high value on their thoughts. We asked many questions. To the actors it was mostly about how they immersed themselves in their roles. Especially the ones more difficult to play such as the boy with severe OCD or the really horrible friend. They told us that in every character there is something that you have to connect to even if it’s just the smallest thing. To the playwrights we asked how they came to write such inspiring plays. Byshera Williams wrote the play Star Dance which touched on addiction, unhealthy homes, love,OCD, and much more. We asked her how she came up with the idea and she said it developed over time. She wrote the first edition of her play sophomore year and continued to work on it until it was performed this year (her senior year). She really emphasized the importance of the process and how nothing is going to be perfect the first time but once it’s written you have already jumped the biggest hurtle. As a new intern at Philly Young Playwrights, I have the privilege to see a little of what goes on behind the scenes. This year in my history class I will be required to write a play. It’s nice to already have seen the way the plays go from script to stage. A few times I have had the pleasure of sitting in on rehearsals between actors performing the winning monologues and the director. Getting to witness the process I or my classmates may soon go through is certainly advantageous and for that I am very grateful. Overall, New Voices is a great program. As I enter my personal writing phase I am motivated by the thought of those who I have been successful before me. |
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