Productions

Plays by Young Writers
Beyond Prison Walls
Mosaic
Community Performances

Upcoming Productions

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Plays by Young Writers

Annual Festival of Plays

Plays by Young Writers, our annual Festival of plays by winners of the California Young Playwrights Contest, features full professional productions at a renowned theatre in San Diego. The Festival provides an intensive learning experience for the young writers as they work alongside a writing mentor, experienced artists and technicians.

Student matinees give hundreds of young people their first chance to “go to the theatre,” where they often meet characters grappling with conflicts much like their own, in plays praised by local critics. Nationally known dramatists whose first plays were staged in the festival include Karen Hartman, Jim Knable, Josefina López and Annie Weisman.

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Beyond Prison Walls

A staged reading of short plays

Playwrights Project partners with San Diego State University to present the annual production of Beyond Prison Walls, staged readings featuring scripts written in our Out of the Yard program at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility and Centinela State Prison. These heartfelt and inspiring plays demonstrate the compassion and creativity of the writers in our arts in corrections programs. Students in SDSU’s School of Theatre, Television, and Film direct and perform these short plays with support from SDSU’s Project Rebound.
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Mosaic

The Mosaic Program presents an annual professional production of plays written by adults in our community programs

Validating the experiences of adults from disenfranchised communities and showcasing their creative talents, Mosaic provides an opprotunity for adult playwrights to work alongside actors, directors, designers and technicians to discover how their written words translate to the stage. Community programs dramatize stories from adults in the community seniors, alumni of foster care, military veterans, immigrants, justice involved adults and individuals in recovery from substance use disorder. We reach out to members of the community to attend as audience members- especially encouraging first-time theatre goers.
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Community Performances

Select scripts developed in Playwrights Project’s programs receive public performances by professional actors at local theatres, libraries, and community centers.

Most community performances are first time productions. While some performances are full productions, most are presented as staged readings. Talkbacks with the writers and creative team follow each performance. Revision throughout the rehearsal process and conversations with audiences help inform the playwrights continued development of the work.

All Community Performances are free to the public to encourage attendance by all community members and especially new theatre goers.

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