Dan's Papers - December 14, 2007

There's so much to be said about the Young Playwrights Program, sponsored by Bay Street Theatre, that one hardly knows where to begin.

We could start with the great need to promote the arts in America's public school system. While the focus on math and science is commendable, it should not always be at the expense of theatre, music and the visual arts.

Despite the lack of arts in the curriculum, we'd like to know how American students would fare with theatre, for example, when compared to pupils abroad. We bet they'd be at the top of the list, not at the bottom as they are now in math and science.

What we saw this past Saturday night at Bay Street would certainly give our students high marks on all levels: craftmanship, insight and intellectual/emotional growth. Or as Emma Walton, the Young Playwrights Program Director put it, "the ability of the students to champion the human spirit."

Even so, there's still more to be said about the pupils' abilities, particularly regarding their grasp of essential truths. Such a talent speaks not only to their depth of thinking and feeling, but to their maturity as well. Simply put, the young playwrights have experienced an epiphany. And put it on the stage for all to see. That it came at such an early age gives us jaded adults some hope.

So exactly what is this instant insight? While the plays' themes often dealt with a "rite of passage," there was more to it, specifically a substantial recognition of change and often subsequent loss.

What's amazing is that these students (mostly seniors) are thinking about where their lives will now take them, the importance of their past and the necessity of giving up that past. This would have been an thinkable exercise when yours truly was growing up.

Consider, for example, the loss of one's parent in Heather Zaykowski's "A Beautifulw Disaster" (Southampton). Or in Freddy Garcia's "At the End We Are All the Same" (Bridgehampton). Or the loss of a dream in Shawna Bennett's "It's Your Dream" (East Hampton) or one's past identity in Mia DiOrio's "My Fair Homophobe" (Shelter Island) and Melissa Vazquez' "Golden Age" (Pierson).

There are other kinds of losses as one gives up a childhood or low self-esteem in Louie Rinaldi's "What Happened to All the Stars" (Westhampton Beach) and Janet Fusco's "Shut Up and Drive" (Pierson), respectively.

Of course, there were also themes featuring gains rather than losses. Consider the valuable lessons that "white milk" and "chocolate milk" learned about racial unity in Stephanie Jaquez's "Jena 6 Remix." (Foreign Language Academy of Global Studies). Or the gaining of trust in Hernan Cordoba's "The Gift" (Southampton).

Besides thematic considerations, a word about language and acting skills seems appropriate. Melissa Vazquez' "Golden Age" appeared especially substantial, written in a poetic, lyrical style that one doesn't see too often in young people's work. And yet, the play also recalled Edward Albee's early prose that is at once complex and searching- just like the characters.

It also appeared that this year's acting styles were more subdued than in past festivals. Like the plays' themes, there was concentration and focus, an awareness that the actors were abandoning themselves to the moment.

There's still more to say; we'll continue when next year's Young Playwrights Program comes around. As the program will continue, too.