Press release for Be My Ally: the upstander play
“MAP presents new plays by kids about allies and upstanders”
(Providence, RI) The Manton Avenue Project (MAP) will stage its next performance, “BE MY ALLY: the upstander play” February 14-16th 2014. Performances will take place at 7pm on Friday, and 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, in the Media and Arts Center at the Met School at 325 Public St. in Providence. The Manton Avenue Project (MAP) is a non-profit organization that unites children living in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood with local theater professionals to create original plays together. The Manton Avenue Project’s mission is to unleash the creative voices and unique potential of kids living in Olneyville through playmaking. Each of MAP’s out-of-school time programs is focused on playwriting education, mentorship, and bringing kids’ voices to the page and to the stage.
“BE MY ALLY: the upstander play” is the culminating performance of The Manton Avenue Project’s Tag Team program, a 6-week playwriting class held at MAP’s new Clubhouse in Olneyville. Nine young playwrights, each in the 5th grade, have collaboratively written a full-length play around the theme of kindness, and turning bystanders into upstanders in bullying situations. The resulting production will be directed by David Rabinow and performed by the wonderful talents of local adult theatre artists. For this project, The Manton Avenue Project is partnering with TalkWorks, an anti-bullying theatre program.
“The Manton Avenue Project is proud to present Be My Ally: the upstander play – a very timely production around an incredibly important theme. This production will be a culmination of an exciting collaborative process for the young people in our Tag Team class. After coming up with the characters and plot as a team, each child will write one act in a larger play which we will present with a cast of excellent adult actors,” says Executive Artistic Director Meg Sullivan. “Our goal is to show Olneyville kids the value of their voices and, through our ongoing and tuition-free playwriting programs, help them reach their full potential as creative thinkers and community leaders.”
This is the second production of The Manton Avenue Project’s 2013-14 season, which is supported by a general operating grant from The Rhode Island Council on the Humanities, The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, a Citizens Bank Growing Communities grant, a Senate Legislative Grant from the State of Rhode Island, a grant from the Katherine Baker Charitable Trust, as well as many other individual and corporate donors.
Tickets are pay-what-you-can. Saturday and Sunday matinee performances will include appearances by special guests. For reservations, call (401) 331-7007. For more information about the Project, go to www.mantonavenueproject.org.