Young Playwrights' Theater

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Resources for Parents

Welcome, parent!

We know you’re always looking for quality programs for your children and we also know that parental involvement is an important part of the equation for a child’s success.

The resources below will help you to understand what we offer through our programs. Please also check out our events to get a chance to see us live and in person!

Playwriting Programs

YPT offers the following programs to teach students to write plays. If you’re interested in bringing one of our programs to your school or community center, fill out an application form. (Forms are available at the bottom of each page.) All of our curriculum is aligned with DC Public Schools (D.C.P.S.) English Language Standards. Students working with YPT have demonstrated enhanced literacy skills in such key areas as punctuation and grammar.

Playwriting Resources

The attached documents give you an example of our work in the classroom. We’ve included lesson plans as well as worksheets and vocabulary lists. When you click on them, your browser will ask you to save or view the Word document.

Worksheets:

Important Vocabulary for Playwriting - Includes terms such as Protagonist, Conflict and Objective. Your child will benefit form learning these terms.
Character Questionnaire - This worksheet helps students more to imagine their characters in detail. It could be fun to work on this together!
Seeds of a Play - This worksheet helps students find inspiration.
The Five Stages of Playwriting - These stages can help you understand your student’s process as they move through stages in their writing.
Basic Play Elements - This sheet outlines the basic structure of a play.

Lesson Plans:

Character and Conflict - This interactive lesson plan helps students explore key concepts in playwriting.
The Need to Tell - This interactive lesson plan helps students add urgency to their work.
Dramatic Structure - This interactive lesson plan introduces students to the basics of dramatic structure.

Express Tour

Our Express Tour brings full productions of some of our strongest student plays out to schools and community centers throughout the DC Metro Area. The Express Tour is a great way to inspire students to write!

Click here for more information on the Express Tour.

The Theater Scene in Washington, D.C.

Looking to see more theater? Washington, D.C. is full of opportunities. Visit the following links for more information on what’s playing around town right now.

Playwriting Links

Looking for more plays to read? The links below will take you to online retailers where you can order more. And don’t forget to check your local library!