literary

Readings by ACT Theatre's Young

Playwright's Program

Showcasing the works of four Island student playwrights

March 6:
Tuesday @ 7:30 p.m.

Tickets:
$5 per person

2006-2007 Media Sponsor: Bainbridge Island Review

BPA’s March Word Series showcases the works of four Island student playwrights recognized in ACT Theatre’s Young Playwrights Program (YPP) last winter. Bainbridge Island High School Seniors Allison Beemer, and Elsie Love premiere readings of their respective works: Once Upon a Time in the Middle of Nowhere and Talay and Isra. Also featured will be works by Hyla Middle School 8th graders: The Salesman by Jackson Beall and The Protest Files by John Murphy.

Jackson Beall’s The Salesman is about a typical Englishman who is offered futuristic devices, throwing him into a whirlwind of confusion as he questions his values.

Allison Beemer’s Once Upon a Time in the Middle of Somewhere delves into events that demand personal growth from all who become entangled in them.

Elsie Love’s The Adventures of Talay and Isra is a magical realism tale about two friends, a young boy and a black panther.

In John Murphy’s The Protest Files two Secret Service agents, Jim and Bill get fired for fooling around and being immature on the job.

YPP, which was founded under the premise that students benefit from witnessing each other’s work, offers Seattle-area middle and high school students a rigorous and innovative language arts/theatre curriculum based on the art of playwriting. This season, 300 students from fourteen area schools participated in YPP, with each student completing their first draft of a short original play by the end of the ten-week session.

In a December Awards Ceremony, a panel of ACT artistic staff and teaching artists selected outstanding student plays for recognition. Four Bainbridge Islanders were among those distinguished, and BPA is honored to feature readings of their works in the March 6 Word Series in the C. Keith Birkenfeld Lobby.