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Loudoun Youth Initiative plays
Youth theater offers two productions: Last year Tom Sweitzer, the head of the Creative Youth Theater, started a tradition with the play "Normal." This tradition is one in which the play is conceived, developed, written and acted by the students themselves. "Normal" was a thought-provoking study of teenagers dealing with the myriad changes in the contemporary world as well as the age-old teenage problems of peer and social pressures.
This year, Sweitzer took the tradition a step further and facilitated the creation of two plays: "Listen" with high school students and "A Day in the Life of ..." with middle-school students.
"Whereas 'Normal' was very intense, 'Listen' is a little bit lighter," Sweitzer said. "But it takes a real good look at the lives of teenagers today with e-mail, cell phones, Facebook, MySpace and all the technology. And we deal with the big one, the communication between parent and child."
Sweitzer emphasized that everything, not just the dialogue but even the music and lyrics, all were written by the students.
"We've been rehearsing since October of 2007," Sweitzer explained. "We see these children twice a week."
The 'we' Sweitzer is referring to includes Tim Chestnutt, the leader of the Loudoun Youth Initiative.
The two productions are ready to go. The schedule, to date, follows:
"A Day in the Life of ..." features 24 middle-school students representing Loudoun County. This production takes a preteen look into the world of bullying. This original production is knitted together by music written by the cast and lasts 50 minutes. Performances are Friday, Feb. 22, at The Hill School at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 23, at Belmont Ridge Middle School at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 24, at Harmony Intermediate School at 3 p.m.
"Listen" features 22 high-school students representing Loudoun County and the surrounding area. This 50-minute production is a glimpse into the communication gap between teens and their parents in the ever-transforming world we live in. Performances are Friday, Feb. 15, at The Hill School at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 16, Park View High School at 7 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 17, Stone Bridge High School at 3 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 23, Dominion High School at 7 p.m. Locations and times have yet to be determined for performances Feb. 22 and Feb. 24.
All performances are free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the Loudoun Youth Initiative's Web site at www.loudounteens.org or the Creative Youth Foundation at DDE_LINKwww.cyfoundation.org DDE_LINK.
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