Philadelphia Young Playwrights: Improving Student and Educator Engagement Through the Art of Playwriting
Abstract
SummaryPhiladelphia Young Playwrights’ program model is arts-based education with a built-in, two-tiered innovation. The program has energized students in Philadelphia schools by tapping into their interest in playwriting. The program has also given a dynamic teaching tool to Philadelphia teachers, enabling them to reach students in new and inventive ways.
Philadelphia Young Playwrights is a stand-alone organization whose mission is formed around the empowerment of youth. The program puts students and their work center-stage. With the support and guidance of Teaching Artists and traditional classroom teachers, students write a full one-act play. The experience of learning the craft of playwriting is formative. Students find their footing and learn to hone their voices and thoughts, as well as their craft. Philadelphia Young Playwrights keeps students returning; as they are nurtured and encouraged, they are also pushed to break out of their comfort zones. This is a formative experience for an adolescent. Students see, perhaps for the first time, that that they have a voice—a powerful and authentic voice.
Philadelphia Young Playwrights also provides a sought-after teaching tool for educators. Teachers are incorporated into the model as equal partners with the student and the Young Playwrights Teaching Artist.
The program shows an impressive social return on investment and the potential for replication. In a world with high stakes around literacy and violence, and low expectations around the potential of youth, Philadelphia Young Playwrights provides an important service for Philadelphia youth and the teachers who work with them.
Glen Knapp has been executive producing director of Philadelphia Young Playwrights since 2001, and is a senior lecturer in theater management at the University of the Arts and Temple University.
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