PlayWrite’s Spring WORD.VOICE. Showcase Performance

Youth, at the edge, Leap. Learn. Land. Witness the transformation of one tough life at a time into Art.

PlayWrite Public Showcase Performance
World Trade Center Theater | 121 SW Salmon - Portland
May 25, 2010 :: 5pm & 8pm
FREE – Reservations Required: http://wordvoice2010.eventbrite.com/

Portland, Oregon – On Tuesday, May 25, at the World Trade Center Theater, PlayWrite will present a soul-soaring showcase of original plays and songs written by students from alternative education programs in Oregon. The short plays and musical pieces are directed by the student writers, and will be performed by some of Portland’s top actors and musicians. For the first time, PlayWrite will offer two opportunities in one evening for audiences of all ages to witness student work. Performances are at 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

The showcase is an opportunity for these youth ‘at the edge’ to take pleasure and pride in seeing their work performed by professionals before a public audience. This is free community event. Space is limited, so registration is required and can be made online at: http://wordvoice2010.eventbrite.com/.
The evening’s performances highlight selected student work from recent workshops in 2009-10. Student playwrights for this showcase come from Portland Night High School, New Avenues for Youth, Merrick School/ChristieCare, Rosemont School and White Shield Center. Student songwriters come from Mt. Scott Learning Center, Portland Night High School and New Avenues for Youth.

This event shares the efforts of these teens and the dedicated work of PlayWrite coaches and musicians, who invest their time with these remarkable young people. A host of Portland actors and singers will perform their work including: Amaya Villazan, Valerie Day, Shawn Price, Michael Stone, Deirdre Atkinson, Spencer Conway, Timothy Scarrott, Alyson Osborn, Cecily Overman, and Grace Hsu Shapiro.

Now in its seventh year, PlayWrite engages youth in a carefully structured process of creating original plays and songs. The program targets young people in under-served areas. The sessions involve an intensive three-week residency, bringing young people together with PlayWrite-trained coaches. Young participants work one-on-one with coaches to create a play. In the final step, public performance, the students become directors, collaborating with professional actors and musicians who perform their work for the community. Students, coaches and performers alike learn that putting feelings into language and song is a healing, restorative, and nurturing process, transforming the lives of everyone involved.

Please visit the website : www.playwriteinc.org

QUOTES:
"I wish everybody could get a chance to experience what I did! I know it would change the world!"
Amy, a PlayWrite graduate

"With every detail you add to a character, the coach asks you why over and over again. You get down into this
raw emotion, until you’re at a loss for words. I probably learned more about myself than anything else. We
explored our pasts, and how different situations we had been in made us feel. It was scary, sad, exasperating,
and most of all, fun." Ian, a PlayWrite graduate

“PlayWrite strips away professional pressures, dramas and egos and is a direct connect to the source of the
craft, helping any professional artist remember that what they do for a living is much simpler than we tend to
make it, reminding us that our work is to listen and be present… PlayWrite has reconnected me to the roots of
my craft while providing and invaluable service to the children who need it most. What could be better?
Wade McCollum, PlayWrite actor, singer and coach