Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Giving a voice to the valley's youth

Company of Fools' New Voices for the Theatre program culminates in performance


By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer

Playwright Kimberly Martin, also a 12th grade Wood River High School student, participated in the New Voices for the Theatre program to write an original play. Photo by David N. Seelig

Seven young voices amplified at an enhanced volume this week.

The strength of expression occurred when pencil hit paper through the New Voices for the Theatre program devised by the Hailey-based Company of Fools. The program mentored seven Wood River Valley students to express themselves as playwrights.

"(The program) is about our seven playwrights. It's about the written word," said Denise Simone, a founding member of the company.

The Fools chose seven students from 18 submissions. Each wrote an original play that will be presented at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, April 20-23, at The Liberty Theatre in Hailey. The plays take shape as staged readings that highlight the development of young writers.

The playwrights include Amberle Behr, Kayla Cloud, Haley Johnson, Chloe Jory, Maxwell Kessler, Kimberly Martin and Russell Wilson. The group spans students in seventh to 12th grades sharing a desire to express themselves.

"You know what was wild, a lot of the pieces were about being heard and being acknowledged," Simone said.

The program began in January, meeting every Saturday to develop students' writing.

"I looked at the piece I ended up with, and it's no way near the piece I started with," Behr said. "The intensity really changed."

The sessions involved writing exercises, group discussions and constant feedback. Feedback also came from Company of Fools' core company artists who mentored the writers throughout the process.

"(The plays) changed from something you would say 'that's good,' to something you would say 'Wow!" Behr said.

Significant suggestions came from produced playwright and storyteller Clay McLeod Chapman. He spent a week working intensively with the aspiring playwrights through group and individual scenarios. "I think when (my work) changed the most is when we were working with Clay," Behr said.

Evolution wove throughout the writing process.

"The highlight of the process was seeing my piece develop," Behr said.

"You don't have the chance at school to keep working on something until it's what you want," Martin added.

At the final stages of the process, the students worked directly with actors and a director to bring the plays to life.

"The staged reading really brings more of a voice to the writing," Martin said.

New Voices

The staged readings will be presented at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 20 through Saturday, April 23.

Tickets are $12 for reserved seating and $5 for students and are available at Company of Fools' box office in Hailey or by calling 578-9122.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.