The International School of Boston's Theater Company has, over the past few months, been participating in the Massachusetts Young Playwrights' Project (MYPP). MYPP, an organization supported by the Boston University Center for the Humanities, brings playwright mentors into high schools across the Boston Metro Area. Over two class visits, students receive a crash course in the writing of a 10-minute play. Students then write (and rewrite) their plays, receiving feedback from their playwright mentor, theater teacher, and classmates.
The culmination of this process is the New Noises Festival in April, when all the participating schools along with professional actors and directors from the Boston theater community come together over the span of four days to present selected student works.
It is an extraordinary opportunity for those students whose plays are selected to work with professional actors and directors, who rehearse and perform their plays, script in hand. For other participants, the day includes workshops with professional theater artists as well as the opportunity to see and discuss the work of their peers.
Three ISB Juniors had their plays selected, including Jack Mei, Alborz Seyyedi, and Ismaeel AlAlawi. Jack and Alborz received staged presentations of their works and Ismaeel had what is called a "cold reading" by professional actors.
Ismaeel's and Jack's reflection on the day:
Attending the Massachusetts Young Playwrights Festival was truly an unprecedented opportunity for us high school students. As we landed our feet on the Boston University theater's grounds, we all stood in amazement. The room was painted in solid black, with a stage on the far right, and headlights reflecting blue transverse waves on the smooth wooden stage's surface. We gently sat on the chairs, and calmly rejoiced as one play after the other was presented. We had a great time, and you wouldn't believe it, but our astonishment grew to be proportional to the number of plays acted. Entertainment, information, guidance, dedication, creativity, expertise, opportunity, pleasure... All the words that could come to mind after having the great opportunity of watching our own plays being performed by professional actors. Yes, our plays! Although it was wonderful, it didn't last for long. We left the theater grounds with masks of sorrow at 4:00 pm. Yes, we wanted more. We wanted more of this magical, wonderful experience that sparked our curiosity and passion for scriptwriting. We thank our teacher for offering us the chance to participate in the Massachusetts Young Playwrights Festival and look forward to next year's festival. (Ismaeel)
The Young Playwrights' Festival at Boston University was an amazing experience for me. The play I wrote was directed by a professional theater director and acted out by professional actors. I was amazed by how the director and the actors creatively turned my special effects-demanding play to one that was doable on stage, while keeping the message of my play and its element of mystery and spookiness - which were really important to me. I learned a lot from the director through his creativity, adaptability, and ingenuity, as well as from the actors' commitment, skillfulness, and genuineness. It was a very worthwhile experience for me. (Jack)
