Each June since 1998, the Program in Educational Theatre at New York University has offered a play development series at the landmark Provincetown Playhouse.  The tradition and practice of developing new scripts and new talents dates back to the early days of the Playhouse, originally the Playwrights Theatre, which fostered the early works of Eugene O’Neill, Susan Glaspell, and Edna St. Vincent Millay and where future stars, such as Bette Davis and Claudette Colbert, made their debuts.

Now in its fifteenth season, the New Plays for Young Audiences (NPYA) play reading series focuses more specifically on the development of scripts for child and young people’s audiences.  The creative vision of the Program in Educational Theatre’s co-founders, Lowell and Nancy Swortzell, was to establish a program to encourage the development of plays for youth written by both NYU students and noted authors in the U.S. and abroad.  As a playwright himself and editor of several books of plays for children and adults, Lowell Swortzell understood that playwrights need a home where they can take risks in a supportive atmosphere—a place designed to both nurture and evaluate.  This is precisely what O’Neill and his colleagues achieved in their small theatre, and what NPYA achieves for young audiences today. 

In 15 years, The New Plays for Young Series has:

• Developed 40 plays by both established playwrights and emerging talents which have gone on to national recognition.
• Brought public readings of these plays to the local community and facilitated audience talkbacks with playwright, director, actors, and dramaturge following each Sunday matinee.
• Fostered opportunities for NYU students, alumni and professional actors to perform in the readings.
• Provided a place where individual works can be developed, tested and brought to the wider realms of production and publication without commercial pressures.
• Been praised in print, including Time Out New York which noted: “Some of our best plays for young people have been polished during the NYU Educational Theatre Program’s New Plays series.” 
• Won national visibility, including capturing the 2001 Award from the American Alliance in Theatre and Education (AATE) for Outstanding New Theatre Project. 
• Run an attached class, called Problems in Play Production, The Development of New Plays, which studies play development.

Plays produced by New Plays for Young Audiences:

The Match Girl's Gift: A Christmas Story (1998) by Laurie Brooks, director: Scot Copeland; Applause Books

Ezigbo: The Spirit Child (1998) by Max Bush, director: John Shevlin Foster; Anchorage Press

Riddling Child (1998) by John Urquhart, director: Jeff Church; Anchorage Press

The Wrestling Season (1999) by Laurie Brooks, director: Jeff Church; Dramatic Publishing

Belongings (1999) by Daniel Felton, director: Ann McCormack; Dramatic Publishing

The Cottingley Caper (1999) by Christopher Czajka, director: Jack Alison; manuscript

Deadly Weapons (2000) by Laurie Brooks, director:  Graham Whitehead; Dramatic Publishing

Tua's Dream (2000) by Alisa Faye Weinstein, director: Melissa Swick; manuscript

Sacagawea: Breath of an American Spirit (2001) by Christine Anderson, director: Jeff Church; manuscript

Franklin's Apprentice (2001) by Laurie Brooks, director: Scot Copeland; Dramatists Play Service

Burr Ferry (2001) by Linda Daugherty, director: Graham Whitehead; manuscript

Riding the Wind: Story Plays from Old China (2001) by Carol Korty, director: Nancy Swortzell; Dramatic Publishing

Everyday Heroes (2002) by Laurie Brooks, director: Jeff Church; Dramatic Publishing

Warped! (2002) by Barry Kornhauser, director: Graham Whitehead; manuscript

Sally Ann Thunder (2002) by Lowell Swortzell, director: Graham Whitehead; in press, Dramatic Publishing

The 12:07 (2003) by Laurie Brooks, director: Jeff Church; manuscript

The Odyssey (2003) adapted by R.N. Sandberg, director: Nancy Swortzell; manuscript

The Forgiving Harvest (2003) by Y York, director: Shannon O'Donnell; Dramatic Publishing

Between Land and Sea (2004) by Laurie Brooks, director: Scot Copeland; St. Martin's Press

The play tells the story of thirteen-year-old Ellen Jean, caught between land and sea, childhood and maturity, as she unravels her true identity. Helped by her charming grandfather and Tam, an outcast gypsy lad, Ellen Jean discovers what she needs to know to grow into healthy adulthood

Earth Songs (2004) by José Cruz González, director: Christopher Gurr; manuscript

...Earth time... Human time... Hummingbird time... Rivers of birds... Meadows of glowworms... A silent chorus... The Big Bang... A scientist who has lost hope... A timekeeper who doesn't care about time... An old woman who can't remember what she's looking for... These are among the compelling images swirling through this play.

Before the People Came (2004) by Jeff Obafemi Carr, director: Jackie Welch; manuscript

Before the People Came is based on an Afrikan (as the script spells it) Folk Tale in which the Griot (storyteller) narrates a tale about a drought coming to a plain where the animals live. Among them, the Elephant, Monkey and Tortoise are particularly unhappy without liquid relief. When Rabbit arrives, they plot their salvation despite a fierce obstacle, the Tiger who guards the desired pear tree bearing the juiciest fruit. With nine lively characters and dynamic songs, this is a charming work aimed at younger audiences but of interest to all ages.

Flight (2004) by Oscar Saul and Louis Lantz, director: Nancy Swortzell; Greenwood Press

First produced in 1936 by the Federal Theatre Project, Flight's cinematic treatment of man's eternal desire to fly drew praise from the press for its ability to combine drama and pageantry and education and entertainment. Here is a sweeping air odyssey offering numerous characters and scenes from antiquity to Lindbergh's daring adventure.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham (2005) adapted by Kevin Willmott, director: Kevin Willmott; manuscript

Based on the very popular novel for young people, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis, dramatizes the trying and rewarding daily lives of an African American family during the 1960s.  Kenny, age 9, does well in school and tries to meet his parent's expectations, but his brother Byron, 13, is out of control.  Momma and Dad send Byron to Birmingham to be straightened out by their legendary Grandma Sands.  After the road trip to Grandma's, the family becomes embroiled in one of the seminal moments of the Civil Rights Movement when the Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church is bombed.  This violence changes the family's lives and ours forever.

River Rat and Cat (2005) by Y York, director: Rob Goodman; manuscript

Concerns the mysterious and unlikely friendship between a Rat and Cat because of their mutual need for housing, food and emotional security.  They plot to prevent Beaver from destroying the last tree on the river bank to build his dam which would destroy their watery homes.  Their actions are more human than animal and more wistfully comic than darkly menacing.

Spirit Shall Fly (2005) by Mary Hall Surface, director: J. Daniel Herring; manuscript

This play is inspired by the State of Virginia's "Mustang Project" which assigns delinquent teenage boys wild Mustang horses to train as part of their rehabilitation.

Getting Near to Baby (2006) adapted by Y York, director: Mark Lutwak; manuscript

Willa Jo and her Little Sister are sent to live with Aunt Patty because their grief stricken Mother can no longer care for them.  Life with Patty, a narrow minded over socially correct, but humorous lady, offers the girls little solace and little understanding.  The sisters climb to her rooftop to see the sun rise but won't come down until they can explain the grief they, too, feel over the loss of their Baby Sister.  It is an uplifting story about grief, healing and the power of acceptance.

The Golden Apple (2006) adapted by Cecily O'Neill, director: Audrey Cauldron; manuscript

An adaptation of Lady Gregory's Irish fairytale about a Prince who searches for the Golden Apple to cure his dying father.  A thrilling story of a Giant, an Evil Witch, and an imprisoned Princess enacted with hilarity, warmth, suspense, and courage.

Red Sky (2006) by Bryony Lavery, director: Anthony Banks; manuscript

Red Sky is a companion play to the widely produced More Light, which features a chorus of the entombed Emperor's wives.  The chorus element in this script is the husbands waiting outside the tomb.  It is about man creating art to leave a mark on the world for following generations to discover.

A Tale of Two Cities (2007) by Dwayne Hartford, director: Graham Whitehead; Dramatic Publishing

An adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel follows the perilous intrigues of the French Revolution, as well as the sensitive love story of Charles Darnay and the scheming espionage devised by the notorious M. and Mme DeFarge.

1491 (Red Fortress) (2007) by Carl Miller, director: Tony Graham; manuscript

Recreates the exuberant life in Granada during a golden age where rumors buzz, promises are made, dangers exist, and betrayals are exacted.  The story is told by three children and is enacted with characters such as bakers, navigators, young people, soldiers, kings, beggars, musicians and dancers.  An epic which opens our imaginations to different lost worlds and new potential futures.

The Milk Dragon (2007) by Suzan Zeder, director: Jim Hancock; manuscript

A colorful adventurous, engaging political fantasy which follows the journeys of two young people from a village where everything is perfect to a forest where everything is not and concludes in a visionary and imaginary place where everything is possible.

Eggs (2008) adapted by Y York, director: Rob Goodman; manuscript

The story of two totally different youngsters, David and Primrose, who through daily humorous escapades and a perilous adventure form a lasting but exceptionally tumultuous friendship.  Both are sensitive and fragile yet are rebellious, spiritual and funny.  All those who have ever thought of running away will be lured immediately into identifying with their journey.

Gossamer (2008) by Lois Lowry, director: Stan Foote; manuscript

A tiny invisible inquisitive creature draws an angry rebellious boy to understand and accept his foster mother.  This adventure story, half reality and half imagination, explores past horrors through nightmares and joyous daily life through pleasant dreams.  The curiosity and sensitivity of a tiny wisp of a character brings foster parent and child together to face their own histories and discover what they mean to each other.

What Can't Be Seen (2008) by R.N. Sandberg, director: Joe Salvatore; manuscript

Nan, a molecular biologist, and Natalia, her 16 year old violinist daughter, have just lost the man they loved most in the world.  This death is explored through an array of eccentric strangers as they delve into what lies beyond the surface of their lives.  Their explorations sometimes mysterious, loving and humorous also thrust them into the universal tensions of science, religion and daily life.

Bud (2009) by Carl Miller, director: Tony Graham; manuscript

A contemporary play where, after a crisis, a boy and girl form a friendship which moves beyond the normal experiences of shared childhood activity.

Scallywag, MD (2009) book and lyrics by Graham Whitehead, music by and director: Ric Averill; manuscript

Molière's story from The Doctor in Spite of Himself tunefully created with music and song. Traditional roles hilariously spar with each other in this farce.

Nasty (2009) by Ramon Esquivel, director: David Montgomery; manuscript

Teenagers lured by computer messaging and cell phone texting are propelled into a world of crisis and conflict where the creation of personal avatars offers not relief but confusion and catastrophe.

Where in the World is Frank Sparrow? (2010) by Angela Betzien, director: Emelie FitzGibbon; manuscript

A theatrical exploration of ancient and contemporary myths which amplify the connections between past and present as young people struggle against the enormous menacing conditions of our world today.

Mighty Miracle Saves the World (2010) by José Cruz González, director: Emily Petkewich Kohring; manuscript

A play about a little girl, her grandmother, and a dog with an uncanny ability to be present when miracles occur.

Grotesque Arabesque (2010) by Ric Averill, director: Deirdre Kelly Lavrakas; manuscript

A rock opera on the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe

Walking Toward America (2011) by Sandra Fenichel Asher, director: David Montgomery

A one-woman show inspired by the true story of one young girl's experiences during and after World War II when she and her parents fled their home in Latvia for a 500 mile trek across Germany. That journey included time in a forced labor camp, strafing by Russian planes, several years spent in a displaced persons camp, and a voyage to the USA during a horrible storm at sea.

Echo and Dorian (2011) by Diane Samuels, director: Deirdre Kelly Lavrakas

Inspired by the Greek myth Narcissus and drawing some elements also from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, Echo and Dorian is set amongst a group of style-conscious and media-savvy twenty-first century teenagers, as myth and modern life playfully interweave to reveal what it's like to fall head over heels, have your heart broken, discover what's false, and what's truly true.

The Three Little Wolves (2011) by Larry Brenner, director: David Kilpatrick

The Three Little Wolves need to find a friend, but no one trusts them because of the stories of their uncle, The Big Bad Wolf.  Through learning life lessons about being patient, honest, and brave, each of the wolves finds their own friend.

Future Productions: 

Zachary Briddling, Who Was Awfully Middling (2012) by Finegan Kruckemeyer, director: Emelie Fitzgibbon

In Zachary’s class, everyone is interesting – except Zachary. Zachary Briddling, is awfully middling. His hair sits quite fine. His teeth are aligned. His lines are expected, and his specs nonexistent. So Zachary grumbles (as Zachary does) and shouts: ‘My normal is killing me, mother!’ To which his mom replies: ‘But that is just normal for here’. And she reminds him of all the other places – filled with giants, and miniatures, and hairy things, and flying things – places where Zachary would not be middling at all. And so he sets out… to stand out.

Salvation Road (2012) by D.W. Greogry, director: Deirdre Kelly Lavrakas

When his hip older sister disappears with members of a fundamentalist church, 17-year-old Cliff Kozak struggles to hold it all together, pretending that he isn't hurt by her decision to cut him out of her life. But a year later, a chance sighting of Denise at a New Jersey strip mall leads Cliff and his best buddy on a road trip into the heart of a deepening mystery. How could a smart and talented girl fall for the hollow promises of a sleazy preacher? Could it be that blind faith is just another term for a desperate need to belong?

Sing a Porpoise Home (2012) by Daniel A. Kelin, II, director: Nan Smithnger

The ocean holds surprising secrets, just as it has always held great promise for Tamas’ family. In a small island community, at the edge of a great ocean and his father’s imposing tuna factory, Tamas’ mother lovingly helps Tamas deal with the recent death of his grandfather. Nestled in the favorite spot he loved to share with his ‘Grampy,’ Tamas discovers a secret that will change his family in surprising, and joyous, ways.This play was developed in part by a grant from the Children‘s Theatre Foundation of America. The author is an Aurand Harris Fellow by designation of the Children‘s Theatre Foundation of America, 1999.

For more information on New Plays for Young Audiences or to be added to our mailing list, please address inquiries to:

Professor David Montgomery
Program in Educational Theatre
Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
New York University
82 Washington Square East, Suite 223
New York, NY 10003
dm635@nyu.edu

You may also visit us at our Web site and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The archive of New Plays for Young Audiences is located in the Hayden Library at Arizona State University in the Child Drama Collection.  Contact Katherine Krzys, Curator, at 480-965-6615 or kathy.krzys@asu.edu.