The New Works Festival, an original works show organized by YPAS students, will take place from March 13 to 15 and from March 20 to 22.
“The students generate the plays, the directing class directs them, the acting class acts in them, the choreography is all generated by the students, and the musicians create all the pieces themselves,” said YPAS Assistant Principal, Mr. J.C. Reedy. “Once we get all that together, then student technicians have to pull it all together to make a cohesive show out of it.”
According to Ms. Georgette Kleier, chair of the theatre department, the idea for New Works was conceived by former playwriting teacher Pat Allison. While the festival was initially intended to showcase the work of theatre students, it has since expanded to other facets of the arts.
Participation is open to all Manual and YPAS students, although all work is juried to decide if it is fit to be part of the shows.
Students have been preparing for New Works for as long as five months.
“Some of the playwrights probably started writing before Christmas—maybe around October,” said Reedy. “Dancers, for example, started choreographing before break, and they had to go through an adjudication process to select the best ones.”
New Works offers students the unique opportunity to collaborate with others outside of their grade and major.
“I’m probably most excited about working with the underclassmen who are involved,” said Megan McMasters (11, YPAS). “They have their class in a different period than we do, so we don’t really get to know them any other time.”
Every play is grouped into one of four slates, with each slate performing twice. The schedule is as follows:
Thursday, March 13:
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Slate 1: 9:30 a.m.
Friday, March 14:
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Slate 2: 9:30 a.m.
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Slate 1: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 15:
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Slate 2: 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 20:
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Slate 3: 9:30 a.m.
Friday, March 21:
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Slate 4: 9:30 a.m.
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Slate 3: 7:30 p.m
Saturday, March 22:
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Slate 4: 7:30 p.m.
Matinee tickets cost $6, and evening tickets cost $9 for students and $10 for adults.
