About This Show
For the tenth consecutive year, the Alley Theatre is providing young aspiring playwrights the chance to improve and expand their writing skills in its summer program Houston Young Playwrights Exchange (HYPE). Six plays by local teens have been selected to undergo development in a professional forum guided by the Alley’s staff, with the program culminating in a three-day public showcase of their work as staged readings. This year’s participants have written plays ranging in subject matter, including topics on the importance of family and the complexities of human nature. Their styles vary from a hilarious comedy to an engaging drama.
Plays featured in the Alley’s Houston Young Playwrights Exchange 2006 include:
Series A: Friday, August 4th at 7:30 PM and Saturday, August 5th at 2:30 PM
Remember Me
By Emily Macrander, age 17
Finding herself at a personal crossroad, Mandy is flooded with memories of her best friend from high school, Drake. Mandy must learn how to move on to a new life while honoring the memory of a life-shaping friendship.
Anna’s Cry
By Barbara LeBanks, age 16
Anna is a determined sixteen-year-old who wants to become a magazine writer. She has the support and encouragement of her boyfriend, but seeks a loving relationship with her alcoholic mother.
The Poster Family for Paxil
By Dean Guerra, age 15
A dysfunctional family medicates with the anti-depressant Paxil to overcome obstacles. Events unfurl that teach each family member the power of family connections.
Series B: Saturday, August 5th at 7:30 PM and Sunday, August 6th at 2:30 PM
The Demonstration Mouse
By Jacob Penzell, age 18
An inventor demonstrates the improvements of his new mousetrap with the help of his best friend – a special mouse. However, the inventor must choose between fantasy and reality when a certain businessman wishes to see the new mousetrap prove to have fatal consequences for its victims.
Remote
By Carmen Brown, age 17
The media takes its toll by engulfing the characters into a false sense of reality and affecting their ability to function in the real world, displaying human flaw and imperfection.
Get Confident, Stupid!
By Camille Battle, age 19
Having just survived high school, Anfernee finds a plethora of new obstacles facing him when he reaches college: class, roommates, relationships, and, of course, his arch nemesis–himself.