Theatre For Youth: Connecting Youth and Community

 

TFY

 

The Master of Fine Arts in Theater for Youth (TFY) is a terminal degree program that educates emerging theater artists in the growing field of theater with and for young people. The program is highly competitive, accepting two students every other year, and focuses on community engagement, educational programming, and directing. 

 

For graduate students like Hayley Greenstreet and John Perine, the program has allowed them to explore opportunities for expanding their knowledge about TFY productions while also learning about arts implementation in elementary education. Both of which have provided them with a well-rounded foundation in the intersection between young people and theatre. 

 

“I want to leave UNCG with the skills to do an entire range of positions,” Greenstreet said. “I am confident in my ability as a Teaching Artist, but now it’s time to apply myself!” 

 

The specific subset of Theatre for The Very Young has this attributed history has a global history that reaches back to the 1970s, so it’s exciting to see the United States jumping onto the train, and it’s wonderful to have it as a part of our training at the graduate level. The greatest lessons I’m carrying from graduate school are related to the establishment of my philosophies as a director and educator. UNCG has helped me identify the unique perspective I bring to the table,” Perine added.

 

Background

 

Hayley Greenstreet received her BA in Theater from Wake Forest University. Thereafter, she spent a year in Lexington, Kentucky working as a resident Teaching Artist before traveling to Omaha, Nebraska where she remained for four years at The Rose Theater – one of the top five professional Theater for Young Audiences companies in the US. In this position, she served as a Teaching Artist, Director, Performer, and Community Engagement Coordinator.

 

“In order to better secure a spot as an Ed Director one day, it became crucial for me to receive further education and a terminal degree (like this MFA). UNCG was already in my top two choices of graduate programs, and what helped solidify my choice to come here was in part based on proximity to my family (who are in Winston-Salem) but also because of its focus on directing productions,” she explained.

 

For Greenstreet, her start in theatre began when she was nine-years-old. She took weekly after-school classes at the Little Theater of Winston-Salem from fourth grade to eighth grade, and she participated in summer productions like The Pink Panther and Godspell

 

She continued to explore her interest throughout high school and college. At the start of her undergraduate career, she was cast as Audrey from As You Like It. Additionally, her connections to the community theater allowed her to work as a “Camp Counselor” during the summer for the production camps and serve as a Stage Manager. Her experience with directing started with AA Milne’s The Ugly Duckling during her senior year. 

 

Beyond directing and performing, Greenstreet also has a passion for teaching and learning, and she hopes to leave the program with the necessary tools and skills to educate younger generations: “Rather than only having skills to teach acting or theater basics upon graduation, I will also have the tools to use theater as a means of teaching other forms of curriculum.”

 

TFY

 

John Perine has a deep understanding of the field of Theater for Young Audiences. He earned his BFA in Theater for Youth at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. But at the start of his undergraduate career, he had no concept of what Theater for Young Audiences meant, so he began as an Acting & Directing student. However, during his first semester, he was cast in a production of Roald Dahl’s The Big Friendly Giant: a performance for visiting Elementary students. It was this production that allowed him to recognize the transformative quality of theater intended for young people.

 

“My interests as an artist lie primarily in directing and new work development, and I am specifically interested in creating work for young adults, a population of young people who rarely see their lives reflected from the stage,” Perine said.

 

In fact, the vast majority of programming is intended for audiences falling somewhere in the 5-11 years old age group. “In my passion for Theater for Young Adults, I am greatly interested in understanding the social and cognitive development of people on that age spectrum (15-25), and utilizing that information to challenge the popular definition of Theater for Young Audiences,” Perine explained. 

 

Throughout his time at UNCG, John has been able to direct three fully-realized productions: Feeding the Moonfish by Barbara Wiechmann, Where Words Once Were by Finegan Kruckemeyer, and Flora & Ulysses by John Glore. Each production provided its own challenges and opportunities.

 

“With Feeding the Moonfish, I tried to explore ways to stage an intimate play with no physical contact, as ordered by our safe practices guidelines in staging productions during COVID-19. Where Words Once Were gave me the opportunity to explore intricate world building, since the play takes place in the last remaining city on Earth in the (hopefully) far away future. And Flora & Ulysses was the most technologically demanding production I have ever worked on in any capacity, complete with puppets, projections, and a revolving stage,” Perine said.

 

Theater for Youth

 

“I have always had my eye on UNCG’s Theater for Youth program due to its strong focus on director training [and] crafting excellent educators. As I was considering graduate programs, I was most interested in programs that granted opportunities to teach undergraduate courses,” Perine said. “I’m in my third semester teaching directing, and having that much time to fully explore my abilities as an educator in the university environment in a subject area that I adore has been the greatest gift.” 

 

For those who might be unfamiliar, UNCG’s Theater for Youth program has contributed to a growing trend: North America’s recognition of Youth Theater as a legitimate art form. “Theater for Youth has a global history that reaches back to the 1970s, so it’s exciting to see the United States jumping onto the train, and it’s wonderful to have it as a part of our training at the graduate level,” Perine said.

 

The program’s current performance is Wake Up, Brother Bear!, and it is also the Theatre for Youth’s inaugural production at UNCG. The production will run throughout the month of February, on every Saturday, at 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM. The production, as Hayley and John explained, is intended for children ages 0-6 and offers interactive elements. “What I personally find thrilling about TFY is that oftentimes we are sharing stories with people who have never experienced theatre before. This means we have the honor and privilege of introducing this generation of young people to theatre,” Greenstreet said.

 

Both Hayley and John also discussed the process of bringing such a production to life. It all begins with planning and development. This takes place before rehearsals even start, and the director and design team (Stage Management, Costume, Lighting, Sound, Scenic, and Props) come together to discuss the production. 

 

“We have conversations surrounding aesthetics, soundscapes, and in this situation with Brother Bear – what do we want to physically give to our young audience members so that they can bring some of the story home with them?” Greenstreet said.

 

After a series of auditions and callbacks, which happen during the design meeting process, rehearsals can begin. At UNCG, the rehearsal process is generally six weeks long: rehearsals take place every weeknight from 7:00 PM – 10:30 PM and on Sundays 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM and 7:00 PM – 10:30 PM.

 

The final step of the production process involves more technical elements. “While it is possible that the cast has been able to work with props and scenic elements before this time (for Wake Up, Brother Bear, we were fortunate enough to work in Sprinkle Theater starting our second week), tech week is when the lighting, sound, costumes, and any remaining prop elements are added to the mix. This is also when the director begins to wean the actors off of their own notes, and begin to pass the baton to their stage manager (SM), as the SM is the one who calls the show from then on,” Greenstreet explained.

 

“It’s a lot when it comes to splitting your cognition to process all of those things, but the constant adaptation of communication styles in order to engage most efficiently with each collaborator in the room is one of the most fun aspects of directing for me–but I am also a communications nerd. Add to that all of the actors and the consideration that everyone we’re working with are on their own educational journey and have their own needs and are in a variety of places in their training, and the result is a tricky puzzle that reveals a beautiful design,” Perine added.

TFY Productions

 

The Wake Up, Brother Bear! production is still in process: a theatrical term that could also constitute a work-in-progress. As the production moves forward, the ensemble will continue to observe the action and modify any moments that are subject to change because of the touring context. 

 

“To give an example, there is a moment in the script where the audience is asked to bring up silk leaves to some water fabric, grab the fabric by the edge, and shake it around to make the leaves ‘dance.’ This task is much more straightforward with 15 young people and their parents in a public performance, but becomes a totally different experience if we are performing for 50 young people and their 8 teachers in a school,” Greenstreet said.

 

After the completion of Wake Up Brother Bear, the three MFA Theatre for Youth students are assisting in the development of The Gift, a play about the revolutionary dancer Isadora Duncan. 

“The Gift is going to be an incredible learning experience. Having a play split into three parts with three completely different interpretations and directing styles will surely prove to be captivating, if not challenging,” Greenstreet said.

 

The Gift was written by Sarah Pleydell, a DC-based playwright, originally from England. Previously, graduate students worked with Sarah in a Drama In Education course, and she eagerly received their ideas and perspectives. 

 

“She is hungry for true collaboration on this work, asking us if we are finding any important script edits, checking in with our focuses each week, and celebrating our different styles and practices. I am looking forward to getting my two weeks of rehearsal time later this month!” Greenstreet continued.

 

In the development process for The Gift, each graduate student has been tasked with directing a third of the play with the same five performers (four actors and one dancer). 

“As I’m speaking to you, I just finished my part of the “relay,” so to speak, and it was an absolute blast. One of the amazing things about my time at UNCG so far has been the resources at my disposal for my productions, with design teams and technicians…The Gift doesn’t have that, which may appear frustrating, but it has honestly been so freeing. There is a great freedom when you have only a few pieces of rehearsal furniture and five performers in a room–the frenzied state of experimentation and play is a wonderful place to be,” Perine said.

 

Check out more information about the production and program here: https://vpa.uncg.edu/theatre/programs/mfa-overview/mfa-in-fine-arts-theatre-for-youth-concentration/

 

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