Teens Talk Theatre: Backstage Reports On Today’s High School Arts Scene (Past Times Campus Series)

By Jordan Young

The performing arts should be a vital part of high school curriculums, not a line item on the endangered species list. Art is not only transformative, it makes better students. "I see it in the young people I meet," said veteran arts journalist and playwright Jordan R. Young. "Their passion for theatre or music makes all the difference in their lives. It engages them, and that engages me."The author wasn't sure what to expect when The Orange County Register asked him to go behind the scenes and report on Southern California high school productions of plays like Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children," and John DiFusco's "Tracers." "In four decades of interviewing professional actors--including nine Academy Award winners--I have seldom encountered the eagerness or enthusiasm I've found in the students I've had the privilege of interviewing recently," said Young."These students are highly articulate. They're having fun to be sure, but they're also they're putting serious thought into performing some of the greatest roles ever written, and they're able to talk about the experience with insight and intelligence."The backstage visits detailed here offer a unique opportunity to connect with young people passionate about the performing arts, and see things anew through their eyes. Productions discussed include The Scottish Play (La Habra High School, La Habra, Calif.); Tracers and A Piece of My Heart (Yorba Linda High School, Yorba Linda, Calif.); Our Town (Whitney High School, Cerritos, Calif.); The Lark (Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana, Calif.); Bliss (South Coast Repertory's Theatre Conservatory, Costa Mesa, Calif.); Mother Courage and Her Children (Fullerton Union High School, Fullerton, Calif.); The Scarlet Letter (Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach, Calif.)

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1973329956
• ISBN13: 9781973329954
• Release Date: December 2017
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.1" x 8.5"