Generation Now!

3rd Annual showcase of youth voices featuring new poetic work including coming-of-age stories & perspectives on the world as 2020 approaches by youth participating in viBe Theater Experience, Girl Be Heard, Dare Tactic, and Earsay Youth Voices.

About the Organizations:

viBe Theater Experience:

Original theater and music about real-life issues written and performed by New York City teenage girls. viBes intensive, free programs engage, inspire and empower girls (ages 13-19) to write, create, publish, direct and perform personal and truthful collaborative theater and music about the real-life issues they face daily. viBe provides a safe, creative space for girls to express their voices, take on challenges and gain the self-confidence necessary to succeed personally, artistically and academically. Since 2002, more than 60 viBe productions have brought free theater, live musical performances, music videos and radio plays to thousands of diverse audience members, changing their perceptions about the kind of art that young women can create.

Girl Be Heard:

Girl Be Heard uses theater as a vehicle to empower young women to become brave, confident, socially conscious leaders while exploring their own challenging circumstances. Girl Be Heard is a not-for-profit theater collective and educational program. Their curriculum develops and strengthens girls’ voices. They provide a safe environment to girls to write, direct, and perform theater productions under the guidance of professional directors, playwrights, actors, activists, and intellectuals. Girl Be Heard’s school and community-based programs engage company members – young women age 12-21- through a series of writing prompts, readings, theatre exercises and discussions addressing a variety of issues that have included identity (race, class, sexual orientation, ability), body image, suicide, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, gun violence, sex trafficking, forced child marriage, violence against women and girls, and civil and human rights. The Girl Be Heard philosophy is “If a girl can change her own life, she can change the lives of girls everywhere.”

Dare Tactic:

The Dare Tactic is a creative group with the mission of cultivating creativity in all forms. We “dare” each other to do the work we want to see. We kicked off the year with sold out performances of our original production HOPELESS written and directed by Vinny Eden Ortega.

EarSay Youth Voices: Transforming Trauma Into Art:

EarSay Youth Voices is a non-profit arts organization based in Queens, NY. The program was founded by actress/writer/radio producer Judith Sloan, born out of EarSays partnership with the International High School at LaGuardia Community College where many teenagers have emigrated to the U.S. from war-zones and conflict-zones. The premise of their workshops is based on healing through artistic expression using a combination of music, movement, theatre, storytelling and radio production. This process helps release the stories and stressors that prevent peoplewho have been traumatized by war, economic or natural disastersfrom moving forward. This program brings an understanding of confronting obstacles through artistic expression to communities that are poor, displaced, or dont have access to artistic training, serving approximately 450 students. The project grows out of the commitment to creating artistic works that evolve out of individual experience and community. In this case, the community is immigrant and refugee teenagers attending school in New York City. At a time of war, global tension, and polarization, their program encourages a depth of scholarship and storytelling that shapes the experience of the participants, giving them tools to make connections between cultures, and shed light on the complexity and humanity of each individual, and deepen what it means or could mean to be part of a global community.

Urban Word NYC:

Urban Word NYC champions the voices of New York City youth by providing platforms for critical literacy, youth development and leadership through free and uncensored writing, college prep and performance opportunities. Urban Word presents literary arts education and youth programs in the areas of creative writing, spoken word, college prep, literature and hip-hop. They provide FREE, safe and uncensored writing workshops to teens year round. Our host of programs and artistic development opportunities expose more than 25,000 NYC teens to the art of spoken word poetry.

Love, Redefined

Saturday February 14th (Valentines Day) at 8PM

Poetic Theater Productions fifth annual celebration of non-commercial, non-traditional love featuring poetic and theatrical remixes, re-imaginings and riffs by more than ten incredible poets & playwrights responding to traditional sonnets and love poems. Inspiration poems and newly developed pieces are presented side-by-side. Previous years included inspiration pieces by William Shakespeare, Pablo Neruda, Ghandi, Audre Lorde, John Donne, George Herbert, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, e. e. cummings and more.

Directed by Andrew Willis-Woodward and Dontonio Demarco

Featuring new work by Mahogany L. Browne, Everett Cox, Gina Femia, Reginald Flood, Nicole Goodwin, Dipika Guha, Ish Islam, Teniece Divya Johnson, Jacqueline Jones LaMon, Jenny Pacanowski, Yadira De La Riva, Keomi Tarver, Jeanann Verlee, Catherine Weingarten, and Tanaya Winder.

Live Music by The Mighty Third Rail