The Paula Vogel Mentors Project was the first experience I’d had of its kind, working with people outside of my school (let alone professionals) to create a fully developed production of a play I had written. Looking back, a whopping 18 weeks later, I feel truly blessed to have been a part of it and I can only hope there will be similar opportunities in my future. From start to finish, the project presented me with joys and challenges like none I’d had before. I was exposed to parts of the theatre world I hadn’t known existed and to a part of myself as a writer I hadn’t known existed. I was writing at an unprecedented pace and with a renewed passion. And I think I owe it all to the people I was surrounded with, committed artists on the same wavelength as me. Not only were they dedicated to my own work, taking the time and energy to pore over it and bring it to life, they were also willing to teach me what they knew and guide me in navigating my craft in general. I’ve already caught myself reminiscing about our conversations and experiences together, centered around the things I cared about most and how they were expressed through art. The Paula Vogel Mentors Project showed me the corner of the world I want to live in—one where I can produce art that’s the best it can be, work capable of making a tangible difference. But that’s not even the best part—I get to see the work of others, too, and be the one affected by it, and become part of an inspiring cycle. I was already nostalgic as I edited the footage of this piece, finding it difficult to choose between clips of each moment from each of the two performances. I was again filled with the same feeling that rushed through me during rehearsal—that I’d taken part in creating something to be proud of, but it certainly wasn’t entirely mine. When the dry cleaning shop lived inside my head, when I sat on my bedroom floor and wrote furiously for hours on end, it belonged to me. But the second I printed my first draft and handed it to the members of my newfound community, it became a team effort. Nearly Famous couldn’t have been what it was without the Paula Vogel Mentors project, without the dedication and passion of the entire team behind it (at Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Found Theater Company, and Writers Theatre of New Jersey). And for that I’m forever grateful. ​

Check out the Honorable Mention winners of the 2016 Young Voices Monologue Festival!

Three great videos of monologues selected from the 18 Winning 2016 Young Voices Monologue Festival. 

Each spring, Young Playwrights partners with InterAct Theatre Company to produce the Young Voices Monologue Festival, featuring the work of talented high school students in the City of Philadelphia. A collection of vibrant and diverse perspectives, Young Voices taps into the energy of what it means to be a young person in our city today, now, in this very moment. With subjects ranging from college admission, young love, and neglectful parents to gender identity, abuse, and the state of the city at large, Young Voices honors the experiences, challenges, and triumphs of young people from throughout Philadelphia, placing their voices center stage for audiences from around the region to experience firsthand.

This year’s Festival was no different. Adrian Vega, a sophomore at Nueva Esperanza Academy, drew inspiration from not only his personal experience with loss, but also books and music to write his monologue about a brother seeking revenge and a mother's desperate plea to stop him. “I wanted to write a monologue to show people that having drug wars and people into drugs should be prevented especially from teenagers in our society.”

With the help of the Knight Foundation, we want our Young Voices to start a national conversation. Check out the video about Adrian's experience, and then watch “Payback” in action at the 2015 Young Voices Monologue Festival.