Yale students, city youths team up to present ‘weird, wild, wondrous’ plays

 “Weird, Wild, Wondrous!” — two evenings of plays created by New Haven middle-school students and Yale School of Drama students — will be staged on Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. in the Off-Broadway Theater, 41 Broadway.

The performances mark the culmination of the 2015 Dwight/Edgewood Project (D/EP), a collaboration between the Yale Repertory Theatre and the School of Drama.

Admission is free; seating is available on a first-come basis.

D/EP pairs eight 6th- and 7th-graders from the Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School, who are selected based on their interest in writing and storytelling, with mentors from Yale School of Drama. During the month of June, the students work one-on-one with their mentors and a teaching artist to learn about theater and playmaking through interactive games and writing exercises. Each student then writes an original one-act play, which is designed, directed, and performed by the same Yale School of Drama artists who have served as teachers and mentors to the young playwrights.

Four plays will be presented each night. Friday’s program features “The Woods” by Justin Threet, “Spy Guy” by Divine Wilkins, “Two New Worlds” by Marielys Bodden, and “The Appearance of Kelly, Queen of Zutarc” by Jalen Chandler.

Saturday’s program features “Chipskunk” by Angel Rovira, “Fearfull” by Jamiah Green, “The Unlikely Friendship” by Gianna Pressley, and “It’s Hunting Time!” by Jayden Jimenez.

The staff of the Dwight/Edgewood Project 2015 includes Helen Jaksch (producing director), Kate Newman (general manager), Beth Dinkova and Elijah Martinez (directors), Caitlin Smith Rapoport (scenic designer), Alexae Visel (costume designer), Josef Moro (lighting designer), Nok Kanchanabanca (sound designer), David Clauson (production stage manager), and Kat Wepler (technical director). Mentors include Taylor Barfield, Baize Buzan, Anna Crivelli, Yagil Eliraz (a Presidential Public Service Fellow), Steven Koernig, Chalia LaTour, Brendan Pelsue, and Nahuel Telleria. The teaching artist is Michael Walkup.

The Dwight/Edgewood Project 2015 is made possible in part by Yale Repertory Theatre/Yale School of Drama, Yale University Office of New Haven and State Affairs, Esme Usdan Community Youth Fund, The Carolyn Foundation, The Lucille Lortel Foundation, the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, Allegra Print and Imaging, and individual donors.

For more information, call 203-432-2174.