Paper Wings

Words, Worlds, & Wonder: 10-Minute PlayFest for Young Writers

Friday, June 4, 2021
Live virtual performance at noon – 2 p.m.
Recorded replay for parents, families, and community members at 7 p.m.

On June 4, Theatre Exile presents Words, Worlds, & Wonder: 10-Minute PlayFest for Young Writers; a Paper Wings event featuring original works written by students from South Philadelphia High School and Andrew Jackson Elementary School.

For this event, 35 students wrote original plays using a 10-Minute PlayFest Template that was created by our Education Director, TS Hawkins. While some students worked on their own, others formed groups to create original shows using the titles of Theatre Exile’s most recent productions: Sin Eaters, Zoo Motel, and Pass Over. Through imaginative and thematic prompts, group assignments, and peer review, the students had an opportunity to gain real playwriting experience and learn how to collaborate in a writer’s room.

Words, Worlds, & Wonder: 10-Minute PlayFest for Young Writers will be presented on Friday, June 4 from noon to 2 p.m., followed by a recorded replay for parents, families and community members at 7 p.m. This event is free, but donations will be accepted with proceeds going towards Theatre Exile’s Education Department to fund future Paper Wings productions.

Advanced ticket purchase required, tickets will not be available for purchase on-site. Register to attend Words, Worlds, & Wonder: 10-Minute PlayFest for Young Writers is available HERE.

About Paper Wings

Paper Wings is Theatre Exile’s in-school residency outreach program.  Experienced, professional teaching artists go into the classroom to help students find their creative voices, build bold confidence, work collaboratively, and engage with the world in an empowered way.

Each Paper Wings student writes and performs their own work as part of two annual festivals: our Winter Monologue Festival and our Spring Play Presentations.  Working with their teaching artist and classroom teacher, students learn to write and perform original monologues and plays based on themes they want to explore; whether autobiographical or a topical concern, students feel that presented works need a community spotlight.

Currently, Paper Wings operates in two schools in our South Philadelphia neighborhood: Andrew Jackson Elementary School and South Philadelphia High School.  At Andrew Jackson, Education Director TS Hawkins works with James Lindberg and his middle school playwriting students.  At South Philadelphia High School, Mx. Hawkins works with Nicole Monsalud and her high school Honors English students.  Paper Wings also offers a summer camp program for elementary school-aged students at Columbus Square Park: mycolumbussquare.org

Since the program began in 2007, our students have been awarded numerous awards for both monologues and plays, including both first- and second-place awards for monologues and plays from the Philadelphia Young Playwrights festivals.

Want to stay tuned to the minds of our Paper Wings scribes?
View our Season Highlights in our Fall 2020 Commemorative Mini Monologue Fest Book

Providing real-world, theatrical experiences:

Over the course of the program, we provide students with opportunities to showcase their talent inside and outside of the classroom. This allows them to prepare for real-world experiences and develop their voice as they engage with the greater artistic community. Here is a list of the various festivals, events, and other opportunities our students had access to during the Spring Semester:

• La Bici:  an episodic video play series focusing on biking, safety, technology, and community
• Our Rising Voices: International Human Rights Art Festival Young Playwrights Festival
• City Theatre’s Annual Young Playwrights Contest
• The Winters Theatre Company 10-Min Play Festival
• Transformation Theatre, Inc. Play Festival
• KrisP Production Creative Company: Hong Kong – International New Village 10 Minute Play Festival
• PATH Project | ignition-arts (paid opportunity)
• Playwriting Festival for Young Writers | The Growing Stage
• The New Voices One-Act Competition for Young Playwrights
• Clubbed Thumb Play Submission
• National Endowment of the Arts // 2021 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge

About The Literary Eagle Award: 

The Literary Eagle Award was established in the Fall of 2020 by Education Director TS Hawkins to spotlight the youth voice(s) that exemplified exceptional participation and follow-through within Paper Wings! Awarded during the Fall and Spring sessions of the program, participating students have the opportunity to be voted on by their classmates. After all the student votes have been tabulated, the final numbers are reviewed by Theatre Exile’s Education Director and the partnering classroom teachers. The winner is announced during the culminating presentation; the Fall Monologue Fest and/or the Spring 10-Minute PlayFest. The Literary Eagle Awardees & Nominees are:

• Current Winner(s)
  • Julian Sankey & Kristy Do
• Current Runner-Up(s)
  • Natalia Caro-Ceron, Summer Reid & Aleishai Beltran-Barbon
•  Past Winner(s)
  • Denisha Thapa – Fall 2020
•  Past Runner-Up(s)
  • Natalia Caro-Ceron – Fall 2020 
  • Hajra Khan – Fall 2020

“College is one of the biggest steps in my life, because in my family, they had to stop to work and couldn’t go to college. What would my mom say about me not getting in? Would she be mad?”

Gilbert Mariano, Slow Day