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YPT In The News
The links below track YPT's recognition in local and national news.
Washington Life
David Andrew Snider and the Exponent Awards were featured in the July Edition of Washington Life. Click here to view the article.
Non-profit Superheroes
Association and Non-Profit Bisnow
 by Jessica Sidman
Don't let the lack of capes, laser beams, and x-ray goggles fool you. Last night, we celebrated five non-profit superheroes at the Meyer Foundation's annual Exponent Awards at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
To read the full article click here.
YPT Chosen as Semifinalist for 2010 Coming Up Taller Award
President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities
 Young Playwrights’ Theater has been chosen for recognition as a 2010 Coming Up Taller Semifinalist by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and its partner agencies, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
YPT was chosen as one of 50 semifinalists from over 459 nominations from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. According to the letter we received on May 12, "Your program’s selection as one of the 50 semifinalists distinquishes it as one of the top arts- and humanities- based programs in the country."
The letter was signed by Rachel Goslins, Executive Director of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, Marsha Semmel, Acting Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and James A. Leach, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Award recipients will be chosen from among the semi-finalists by the end of June.
To see a complete list of semi-finalists click here.
YPT Receives Award From Georgetown Philanthropy Class
Georgetown University News
 YPT was the recent beneficiary of an award from students in Georgetown's "Philanthropy and Social Change" course. The following article details the innovative course and partnership that led to this award.
by Rachel Pugh
A new sociology course, “Philanthropy and Social Change,” lived up to its name this spring when its students decided to distribute $31,000 to nonprofit organizations.
Young writers share a neighborhood's stories of change
Washington Post, Wednesday, February 24, 2010
 by DeNeen L. Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Photo by Michael S. Williamson/Washington Post
Gentrification was the subject the students in the Young Playwrights’ Theater were assigned to tackle and make into a play. Some students had never heard of the word, although they were living in the midst of it, walking through it each school day in Columbia Heights where their after-school program on playwriting is located. Watching stores go up and trees come down, and neighbors disappearing and new people coming in and the bright lights of Target and Best Buy replacing dingy old buildings. At least some people thought they were dingy.
To watch a video of this event click here.
To see photos from this event click here.
Young Playwrights will watch as their words move from page to stage
Northwest Current
 February 17, 2010
Mary Ann Barton, Current Correspondent
Photo by Bill Petros
This article covers the upcoming New Play Festival and profiles playwrights Kalia Snowden, Brenda Reyes and Becky Koretz. Click here to view the PDF.
David Andrew Snider wins the Meyer Foundation's Exponent Award
We are proud to announce that our own Producing Artistic Director and CEO David Andrew Snider has won the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation’s Exponent Award in honor of his innovative leadership. Mr. Snider has led Young Playwrights’ Theater since 2005.
The Exponent Award celebrates the accomplishments of exceptional nonprofit leaders. In selecting its awardees, the Foundation considered each nominee’s track record as a manager and leader, including his or her success at increasing the quality and impact of the organization’s work.
"David is the rare combination of a great artist and great leader. He works tirelessly to ensure Young Playwrights’ Theater thrives at improving the lives of thousands of students. He is an inspired and inspiring advocate for the entire nonprofit community of Greater Washington. I am thrilled he will receive this award."
-- Karen Zacarias, Founding Artistic Director
To see video, view pictures and learn more about David and the Exponent Award click here.
To download a printable two-page flier about Young Playwrights’ Theater click here.
YPT's Snider Honored
The Washington Post, Backstage, Jane Horwitz
The Post's Jane Horwitz writes about YPT's Producing Artistic Director, David Andrew Snider, winning the Meyer Foundation's Exponent Award.
To view the article click here.
Writing Two Roles for Herself
Washington Post, May 8, 2009
 By Ellen McCarthy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 8, 2009
Karen Zacarías, mother of three children younger than 8 years old, begins her day by serving breakfast. Then it’s a book read, shoes on, car seats buckled, a song sung, kids dropped at appropriate locations, a kiss goodbye. Once that routine is complete, she will shower -- finally -- and become her other self: the 39-year-old woman who has emerged as one of Washington’s most successful and prolific playwrights.
To link to the complete article, click here.
Behind Bards: Oak Hill students Choose Change
Northwest Current, May 6, 2009
 By Rebecca Blatt
Current Columnist
"Choosing Change,” on stage this week at the GALA Hispanic Theatre, begins with a blast of music, the smash of a gavel and a simple line: “Once upon a time I made a choice, and there was a change.”
Then the actors recite a series of echoes:
“Once upon a time I was doing what I wanted. ...”
“Once upon a time I fell in love with the streets and the stacks. ...”
“Once upon a time I was smoking and fighting and didn’t care....”
“Once upon a time there was a choice and a change, and kids got locked up.”
WAMU 88.5 Covers YPT's "Choosing Change"
May 15, 2009
Stephanie Kay of local NPR station WAMU 88.5 produced three separate pieces on YPT’s play Choosing Change in the past week. The longest of these aired May 15, 2009. See below for links to each of the pieces.
To listen to the story from Metro Connection on May 15, 2009 click here.
To listen to the clip from May 6
click here.
To listen to the clip from May 7
click here.
New Play Festival: "A captivating mix"
Washington Post Express, April 2, 2009
 The Washington Post Express wrote about the New Play Festival in their "Night Out" section, calling the slate of plays "a captivating mix."
To read the complete article click here. 
YPT Makes National News!
ABC News Reports on Chasing George Washington
The show is slated for a National Tour in the Fall of 2009.
YPT News 2007-2008
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Express Picks Green Growing and Original as Top Stop
DC’s free daily, the Express, chose YPT’s event New Writers Now! Green Growing and Original as their Top Stop for Monday, December 15th, 2008. Click here to see the Express.
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WTOP’s Man About Town Visits with YPT
Bob Madigan of WTOP News profiles YPT for his Man About Town series, interviewing playwrights Jorge Hernandez and Vanessa Vatran from October’s New Writers Now!
To hear the radio news segment follow this link. Scroll down to the clip called "The Play’s the Thing."
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Prince of Petworth Article about YPT
Writing for local blog, the Prince of Petworth, Tina explores Young Playwrights’ Theater. She says "This is one of those places that you find out about and wish more people knew it existed."
For more, click here.
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Celebrating Community: A New Writers Now! Event in honor of
Hispanic Heritage month
Washington, DC -- The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) partnered with Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT) on Monday, October 27, 2008 to present Celebrating Community: A New Writers Now! Event in honor of Hispanic Heritage month.
For more info click here.
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The 4th Grade Times
Past Promising Playwright Sophie ReVeal publishes The 4th Grade Times. For her October edition, she assigned classmate and fellow past promising playwright Jane Stirling to write an article about YPT.
Click here to download a PDF of the October edition of The 4th Grade Times.
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Leader to Leader Honors YPT
Leader to Leader Institute chose YPT’s In-School Playwriting Program as their Nonprofit Innovation of the Week for August 6 – 13, 2008. Chosen from among hundreds of submissions, YPT’s In-School Playwriting Program was noted for fully integrating English Language Arts Standards into the curriculum and working to implement an in-school model that can be replicated throughout D.C. Public Schools and beyond.
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Searching for Solutions in Trinidad
WAMU’s Metro Connection
In the summer of 2008 YPT teamed with CityDance to provide an innovative playwriting and choreography camp at the Trinidad Recreation Center. The summer camp was highlighted in a recent piece on WAMU’s Metro Connection, "Searching for Solutions in Trinidad."
To see more photos click here. (scroll halfway down page)
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Chasing George Washington performed at White House
First Lady introduces new musical written with help from YPT students
On Friday March 7th, the new musical Chasing George Washington: A White House Adventure, written by YPT’s Founding Artistic Director Karen Zacarias with help from YPT students at Capitol City Public Charter School had a special performance in the White House’s East Room.
For the full article on Mrs. Bush’s remarks as she introduced the play click here.
For more about Chasing George Washington click here.
White House Photos by Joyce N. Boghosian.
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Chasing George Washington to a Good Story
Washington Times, March 13, 2008
The dude on the dollar bill leaps to life in Karen Zacarias’ entertaining and sometimes inspiring children’s musical "Chasing George Washington." The production (at the Kennedy Center’s Family Theater) also features a spry score by Deborah Wicks La Puma that ably mixes hip-hop, disco, ballads and traditional show music.
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DCist Interview with Program Manager, Patrick Torres
DCist, a popular local blog did an in-depth article on Young Playwrights’ Theater and Program Manager, Patrick Torres in advance of the 2008 New Play Festival.
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Spotlight: Back on Stage
Washingtonian, February 2008
Washingtonian wrote about Karen Zacarias’ incredible season, with four new plays opening in Washington.
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Dramatic Possibilities
Sojourners, January 2008
Sojourners, a magazine of faith, politics and culture wrote about YPT Founding Artistic Director, Karen Zacarias in their article "Dramatic Possibilites."
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Confronting Immigration Head-On
Washington Post, December 14, 2007
The Washington Post profiled Patrick Crowley’s play "The Nation of Immigrants Project." Patrick Crowley said "I do theater because I want to increase the dialogue."
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David Snider: East of the River’s Heavy-Hitting Theater Advocate
East of the River, June 2007
East of the River profiled YPT Producing Artistic Director, David Snider about his work with YPT and as head of the League of Washington Theatres.
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YPT News from 2007 and Before
Click on the title to view the full article or press release.
On The Rise -
from The Washington Post, May 29, 2007
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Students from YPT’s afterschool program at Kelly Miller Middle school are featured in the Kidspost for their original play. [filetype:PDF]
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A Creative Teenager Mourned, Celebrated -
from The Washington Post, May 22, 2007
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The May New Writers Now! staged reading was a tribute to Edwin Ventura, a student at Bell Multicultural High School who tragically lost his life in April of 2007. Article by Elissa Silverman [filetype: pdf]
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| The Next Generation of Playwrights
from The Washington Examiner, May 7, 2007
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The Washington Examiner lauds YPT’s Express Tour as "the future of American the American Stage." [filetype:PDF]
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Where do we go from here? -
from the magazine American Theatre, April 2007
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Founding Artistic Director, Karen Zacarias, joins a panel of leading playwrights to discuss the future of the theatre. [filetype:Word doc]
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| African Roots/Latino Soul
from The Washington Post, October 4, 2006
An article about the play of the same name, co-produced in Fall of 2006 by YPT and Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater.
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A Fabulous Gamble -
from the Washington Theater Review, Fall 2005
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An overview of all that is YPT. Article by Daryl Davis [filetype: pdf]
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Karen Zacarias: A Writer’s Tightrope -
from American Theatre Magazine, January 2006
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"She’s in the family business but goes about it her own way." Article and interview by Caridad Svich. [filetype: word doc]
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Finding Unity in Words -
from The Washington Post, June 23, 2005
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"Student playwrights celebrate heritage through drama." Article by Lindsay Ryan. [filetype: word doc]
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What a genius - "Einstein is a Dummy" -
In November of 2005 a new musical at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta takes a fun look at the Nobel Prize winner Albert Einstein. [filetype: pdf]
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For Zacarias - Chicago’s Goodman is a ’Desert’ Oasis -
from The Washington Post, January 25, 2005
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YPT Founder, Karen Zacarias’s play "The Sins of Sor Juana" opened at the renowned Goodman Theatre in Chicago. [filetype: word doc]
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In 2007 Young Playwrights’ Theater partnered with the White House Historical Association and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to create 
