Youth Unscripted/ Urban Improv - Call for Teens

Youth Unscripted trains today’s emerging, young leaders in the proven violence prevention methodology of Urban Improv. Using theater as a powerful medium for social change, teens draw from their personal life experiences to craft provocative scenes around difficult issues. Teens in Youth Unscripted then showcase these scenes in interactive workshop format to dialogue with peers at public schools and community centers. Youth stipends available.

The objectives of Youth Unscripted are to build leadership and violence prevention capacity among Boston teens, and to allow them to develop skills for making better decisions, building successful lives and proactively creating safer communities.

The Urban Improv actor/educators, and youth workers from collaborating organizations, work directly with the teens, encouraging openness, safety, and respect. Through Youth Unscripted, teens are able to express, process, and dialogue about real life issues with their peers, which, in turn, lead to enhanced self-esteem and improved life skills of cooperation and leadership.

Participant Commitment:

Youth actors are asked to commit one afternoon a week from 3:30pm-5:30pm starting October 25th for 16 weeks at the English High School. During this time the youth actors will learn basic improv skills through challenging, fast paced theater games. They will be asked to enter into scenes and attempt to resolve the conflict and participate in a discussion of the outcome afterwards. Various guests (police, teachers, parents) are being invited for different sessions to participate in the scenes playing themselves or youth.

All participants will receive a small stipend ($8/hour) for their work if they commit to attending all of the 16 sessions. Participants who enjoy the improv process are encouraged to stay with the program and perform in the community as part of a youth ensemble during a paid summer program.

If your teen peer leaders are interested in participating in the Youth Unscripted Program, please contact Abigail Ortiz (617) 983-4104 at the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center for more information.