Young Playwrights Festival May 4 Features Student Shows at PMHS

by Violet Massie-Vereker

PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL — Sock’n’Buskin is preparing for its final production of the year — the one and only student-run Young Playwrights Festival, with a host of eclectic original shows to share.

Amidst the chaos of AP exams, prom and the end of the academic school year, the high school theater program always manages to pull it together again for the acclaimed Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), featuring plays written, directed and produced by students.

YPF will be held May 4 in the PMHS Auditorium at 7 p.m. Admission is $10.

“YPF presents a great opportunity for students to learn all facets of theater production, including writing, directing, staging, lighting, acting, choreography and dancing,” said Suzanne Aronson, parent of YPF director and performer Elise Aronson.

Unlike any other theatrical opportunity in Pelham, students get the chance to take responsibility of the entire process — whether it’s expressing deeply personal concerns through writing, directing your friends in rehearsals or confronting the balance between copyright ownership and creativity. Plus, they must work on the choreography, face acting, lights, lines, costumes and sound needed to breathe life into the plays.

“I just love that YPF shows the talents of Pelham students that for the most part are in the ensemble of Sock’n’Buskin, and the people behind the scenes that write them,” said senior and YPF sound designer Natalie Todaro. This will be Natalie’s last opportunity to participate in theater at PMHS. She and a large class of seniors integral to Pelham theater move will move on to college next year.

The process of developing these five- to 10-minute original works is awkward, organic and exhilarating. Suddenly all the reins are off, and students are challenged to navigate the creative process on their own. Directors must balance the need to provide discipline as well as understanding to the actors, while each writer must work with a director to preserve their voice.

To learn so much about who you are as a leader and artist while still pulling off a clean production in a month is a unique experience hard to find in any other realm of high school.

“When I went last year, I didn’t know what to expect,” said freshman Ella Burns. “There were a variety of shows, from comedies to dramas, and all of them were amazing. I loved how the directors came out and said why they wanted this show, and how they chose to do everything. I would recommend to everyone to go. The writing, directing and acting is amazing, and all student run.”