Summary

The majority of high school plays taught and performed are classics. Though there is certainly value in such material, teenagers are starved for stories and theatre experiences that relate to their modern world. There is little quality dramatic literature specifically centering teens - either roles they can successfully play, or subject matter that is relevant to their experiences. 

Teen West Project is an after school, extra-curricular program designed to cultivate new works about and for teenagers.  The charge is to create a “page to stage” process, culminating in a full production staged at the partnering high school, highlighting themes that are relevant to the emerging generation. As is the rule, Teen West Project plays feature all teenaged characters, allowing student actors to portray roles to which they may be most connected. 

Professional Writers

Teen West Project addresses the deficit of strong teenage dramatic works by surveying teenagers in focus groups to engage them and discuss the issues they identify as pressing. The focus group conversation centers around a theme or idea, agreed upon by Playwrights West, the collaborating teacher, and the professional playwright. Examples are: bullying, gender, toxic masculinity, standardized testing and the school systems, body image, teen sexuality, the environment, etc. The professional playwright (or sometimes multiple) participates in these invigorating discussions and then is commissioned to pen a new play inspired by the topics covered in the focus group. The students are then invited to provide feedback during key moments of the drafting process. After rewrites and auditions occur, the cast is heavily involved in final rewrites during the first two weeks of rehearsals; it’s treated as a playwrights/actors “lab”. From then, the process is treated very closely to a professional production with high expectations set for the actors, crew and student designers. Playwrights West brings in a professional director, dramaturg, and typically, at least one professional designer. All these professional theater artists are expected to engage with students as teaching artists and provide levels of mentorship.

Cost / Income Share

In typical years, the budget is developed collaboratively between the host drama department and Playwrights West.  Typically, the school covers the costs of rehearsal and performance space (typically on site and free for the school), design materials, house staff, and some of the professional design staff.  Playwrights West provides and covers the professional director, professional playwright(s), professional dramaturgs, and some of the professional design staff. 

Since the founding of Teen West Project in 2012, Playwrights West has taken no money from box office revenue, hoping to always bolster the accounts of the collaborating drama department.  Going forward, however, there will be a shift where Playwrights West takes a % of box office, which will be set at 75% of the % Playwrights West contributes to the overall budget.  Example:  Playwrights West contributes 50% of the overall budget and so takes 37.5% of box office.  In this way, the school is still getting a benefit, but Playwrights West receives box office revenue to be marked as “dedicated” and then will move it onto the ledger for next season’s Education Program Budget. 

Capacity / Future Goals

Currently, and in non-COVID years, Teen West Project has the capacity to serve 2-3 schools.  The goal by the 25-26 season is to be serving 4-5 schools and funding 100% of all aspects of the production minus building/rehearsal rental (which again, is almost always on campus at the school - and free to use).  As the years progress, the school’s % of budget will hopefully be reduced incrementally as more sponsors, donors, and granting agencies support the program.

Microphone by Conor Eifler

The writers for these plays are either students, professionals, or can be both.  The process differs depending on the desire of the partnering school and can be flexible.  In general, these are the steps:

Student Writers

Should student writers be the authors, the process is very similar. The main difference is that when student writers are involved, multiple are chosen through an application process - and the production acts as a “new works festival”. In this way, multiple young writers are served. In addition, peer feedback is highly controlled so as to avoid writers giving into peer pressure on what to write. The script development process is much more intensive, with all student writers receiving hours of writing mentorship from professional dramaturgs prior to any drafts being shared – and prior to auditions.

History

Since 2012, Teen West Project has been a collaboration between Playwrights West and SouthWest StageWorks, the drama department within Ida B. Wells High School in Portland, OR. 

 (SEE PRODUCTION PHOTOS FOR TEEN WEST PROJECT AT WELLS HIGH SCHOOL)

In 2020, a partnership began with the drama department at Franklin High School, Portland, OR.  Sadly, the production was halted due to COVID-19 closures.  There is a commitment to produce Sara Jean Accuardi’s new play, The Importance, in their 2022-2023 season.

Also beginning in 2020, Playwrights West began partnering with Lincoln High School, supporting and producing its already established New Works Festival, featuring all student writers. 

In Closing

With Teen West Project, we hope to one: expose students to highly intensive training by having them work with local professionals; two: offer students the development process for new work from page to production; three: present a quality production for general audiences to expand the conversation to the community at large. The final goal is to move these new plays to publication. In this way, Teen West Project serves as a funnel for thrilling new teen centric material.