LISTEN V. LOCK-UP:
UNHEARD STORIES FROM TEENS IN TROUBLE
One Night Only – December 4, 2013
THEATRICAL STAGING OF THE WORK OF YC WRITERS
With Commentary by
The Central Park Five Filmmaker Sarah Burns and
YC Alum Raymond Santana, One of the Central Park Five
Event to Take Place at Morgan Stanley, to Benefit Youth Communication
On Wednesday, December 4, 2013, Youth Communication (YC), the award-winning nonprofit publisher and advocate of reading and writing, will present Listen v. Lock-Up: Unheard Stories from Teens in Trouble.
This unique and powerful one-night-only theatrical event features the voices of one of New York City’s most marginalized groups: teens who have been through the justice system. The performance will take place at Morgan Stanley and will benefit Youth Communication’s literacy and youth development programs.
The production will intertwine dramatic performances of true teen stories by YC writers, with clips from the Ken Burns film The Central Park Five, which re-examines the Central Park jogger case and the five teenagers whose convictions for the crime were later overturned. After the performance, filmmaker Sarah Burns will talk with Raymond Santana, one of the falsely convicted teens and a Youth Communication alum. Mr. Santana participated in a Youth Communication writing workshop while he was confined at the Spofford Juvenile Detention Center.
Joining the conversation will be Marlo, a Youth Communication writer now in his second year of college, and Shawn Welcome, who faced similar challenges but evaded the law and eventually rose from high school dropout to high school principal. They will talk about the city’s justice system, the consequences of being unheard, and how government and society can better support teens in trouble.
“My childhood revolved around disappointment. Disappointment that my mother was dead, and that anytime I asked my father for anything the answer was, ‘I don’t have it’ — not even a subway card. I stole because I wanted things, but also because I was angry.”
Marlo, the young man who wrote these words, was arrested three times and served four months at Rikers Island. Unfortunately, his story is not unique. On any given day in 2012, roughly 1,000 teens in New York City were behind bars. Almost 800 of them were 16 to 18-year-olds in the adult prison system. What had they been through? How did they get there? How can we help these kids do better?
The production of Listen v. Lock-Up: Unheard Stories from Teens in Trouble is adapted and directed by Francisco Solorzano, artistic director of The Barefoot Theatre Company.
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YOUTH COMMUNICATION was founded in 1980, by MacArthur “genius” grantee Keith Hefner. Its mission is to help marginalized youth strengthen the social, emotional, and literacy skills they need to succeed in school, work, and life. Youth Communication publishes high-quality, teen-written stories that facilitate engagement and learning.
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EVENT DETAILS
Name: Listen v. Lock-Up: Unheard Stories From Teens in Trouble
Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Morgan Stanley, 1585 Broadway (at 47th Street), New York, NY 10036To purchase tickets: visit www.youthcomm.org or contact Sandra Toussaint-Burgher, Development Director at (212) 279-0708 ext. 114 or SToussaint@youthcomm.org
EVENT DETAILS
Name: Listen v. Lock-Up: Unheard Stories From Teens in Trouble
Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Morgan Stanley, 1585 Broadway (at 47th Street), New York, NY 10036To purchase tickets: visit www.youthcomm.org or contact Sandra Toussaint-Burgher, Development Director at (212) 279-0708 ext. 114 or SToussaint@youthcomm.org
2014 UPDATE: THIS OPPORTUNITY HAS PASSED
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