CTG’s Middle School Playwriting Program is the result of a yearlong strategic planning process and lessons learned from the Annenberg Middle School Program. Through the Annenberg Middle School Program, which began in 2004 as a three-year partnership with nine middle schools, CTG increased opportunities for thousands of students to experience theatre, provided professional development for over 70 teachers, shared its findings with the field, and supported the development of new theatrical work for young people. In 2007, CTG expanded on these learning opportunities by providing Teaching Artists in the classroom to serve as mentors for students as they shaped dialogues into original plays that they presented before their family and peers. In 2009-2010, CTG hired additional staff and re-directed the institutional resources supporting these efforts to the Middle School Playwriting Program.
Using a refined artist residency model that a) focuses on playwriting; b) partners CTG Teaching Artists with Middle School English teachers and c) teams with a local small theatre as a collaborative partner for each participating school, the 2009-2012 Middle School Playwriting Program targets students at an essential moment of “becoming” to improve and inspire their language and creative thinking skills. Engaging the same students over the course of three years, beginning with them in 6th grade and following them into 7th and 8th grade, students will learn, practice and refine playwriting skills using character development, improvisation, reading and writing exercises; ultimately leading to the development of scripted scenes rooted in their own experiences.
Evaluator Dr. Dana Powell Russell is collecting and analyzing data around student achievement and providing a final report at the end of every year that will help inform CTG of future necessary refinements in order to achieve program goals and student success. Both the Year 1 Report ( pdf | 2.1Mb) and the Year 2 Report ( pdf | 4.73Mb) are now available online.
Filmmaker Rosylyn Rhee has been brought on board to create a video documentary about the program to facilitate sharing with stakeholders and at conferences.
Participating Schools
2009-2012
Luther Burbank Middle School
Burbank Unified School District
David Starr Jordan Middle School
Burbank Unified School District
John Muir Middle School
Burbank Unified School District
Pacoima Middle School
Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 2
George Washington Carver Middle School
Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 5
James A. Foshay Learning Center
Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 7
Crozier Middle School
Inglewood Unified School District
John Adams Middle School
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Schools Not Participating in 2011-2012
Thomas Starr King Middle School
Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 4
John Muir Middle School
Los Angeles Unified School District, Local District 7
The Middle School Playwriting Program receives generous support from The Dream Fund at UCLA Donor Advised Fund, Diana Buckhantz & Vladimir & Araxia Buckhantz Foundation, and the Center Theatre Group Affiliates, a volunteer organization dedicated to bringing innovative theatre and creative education to the young people of Los Angeles.
Photo Credit
Students at Foshay Middle School. Photo by Ryan Miller Capture Imaging
