PAST YOUTH PROGRAMS
2024
DreamWorks’ Shrek The Musical JR.
Jan to Apr 2024
With Students from James Lick Middle School
Directed by Phaedra Tillery-Boughton
Music Direction by Diana Lee
Performed by Young Thespians Theatre Lab
Production Design by San Francisco Running Crew
Choreography by Ruby Day
2023
Together Again
Jan to Apr 2023
Written by Students from James Lick Middle School
Directed by Keith Carames
Music Direction by Jon Gallo
Performed by Young Thespians Theatre Lab with Jocelyn Thompson Jordan, Anthone Jackson, Markaila Dyson
Production Design by San Francisco Running Crew
Together Again celebrates the return to live theater after years of quarantine and loneliness. Our students scoured the American musical theatre canon to find just the right songs to help tell their stories - stories of resilience and reunification. In the spirit of Ruth Asawa and Black Mountain College, our students have collaborated both on and off stage with some of the Bay Area's most talented adult teaching artists to bring out the very best in each and every one of the writers, performers and student designers. Under the direction of Keith Carames and musical direction of Jon Gallo, this team of creators is proud to present this concert for your enjoyment.
2022
Unmasked: The Covid Chronicles
Jan to Apr 2022
Led by Keith Carames, featuring Sedrick Cabrera & Aidaa Peerzada
Read more here >>
Watch the show here >>
This very special, one night only theatrical event will celebrate eight brand new original plays written by teens, all of which chronicle their experiences with Covid-19 during the pandemic. From the disasters of online school to the devastation of shops closing, from the glorious imagination of little children to the wildfire orange skies, this experience provided our student playwrights and designers the opportunity to process their grief, distress and to find the silver linings and discover the power of storytelling.
In the spirit of Ruth Asawa and Black Mountain College, our young thespians were able to work side by side with professional teaching artists working on playwriting, scenic design and painting, sound design, and lighting design.
2021
Original Audio Drama Workshop
Ages: 14-18
Jan to Apr 2021
Led by Aidaa Peerzada
In this class students will collectively write and perform in an original radio play over the course of 13 weeks. Students will encounter the fundamentals of scene study, dramatic writing, acting and voice over performance in a fun, holistic, team styled creative class. Students will discuss current events, complete writing and acting exercises and use what they learn in the process of generating, editing and performing their script. Writing and Performing students will work with Mission Academy of the Arts’ SF Run Crew and technical design students to fully produce their audio drama to be streamed and shared.
Playwriting & Performance Workshop
Ages: 14-18
Sept to Dec 2021
In this course, with the assistance and mentorship of working artists, students will collaborate for approximately 10 weeks to create a series of original dramatic stories to be acted out by both students and professional actors. Students will discuss current events connected to Covid and politics and will employ writing and acting strategies to create these dramatic texts - some of which will have the potential to be coupled with song. The final pieces will be performed and filmed during the Spring 2022 semester.
2020
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Apr to Jun 2020
Led by Andrea Almario
Are you an aspiring playwright? Are you a performer who’s just itching to get your thoughts down onto paper? Join the playwright and lyricist behind Chasing Papeles, Andrea Almario, every Monday for help developing the thoughts in your creative mind and putting them down on paper, be it playwriting, free verse or slam poetry
Put Your Best Foot Forward: The Digital Edition!
Apr to Jun 2020
Led by Marcelo Javier, Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., and Special Guests
Acting and auditioning are two different beasts. This class is for students who are interested in learning how to best present themselves in an audition, covering everything from etiquette to how to pick material. Aligned with our SFBATCO Mentor Series, students will have the opportunity to work with industry professionals including touring Broadway performers, local Bay Area performers, agents and casting directors. Sign on to get their special insights on what life is like as working actors and how they’re navigating the current virtual world.
Not Your Grandma’s Storytime
Sep to Nov 2020
Led by Aidaa Peerzada
Self-tape / Acting Performance Series
Learn how to transform your stage acting skills to becoming on-camera ready by bringing storybooks to life using your own homegrown resources while working in tandem with the MAPA Running crew.
2019
WRITTEN BY Enda Walsh
DIRECTED BY Marcelo Javier & Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe
PERFORMED BY Young Thespians Theater Lab
PRODUCTION DESIGN BY San Francisco Running Crew
DATES Apr 19-20, 2019 at 7PM
LOCATION Brava Theater Center
DESCRIPTION Mission Academy of Performing Arts @ Brava presented their 2019 Spring Production of Enda Walsh's Chatroom. The play takes place in the virtual space of an internet chatroom. A group of bored and restless teenagers – William, Jack, Eva, Emily and Laura – spend their time deconstructing children’s literature and the messages in modern pop music. But when a new member, Jim, joins to share his depression and thoughts of suicide, the conversation takes a dark turn. The group is torn between those who want to help and those who see this as a chance to create a martyr for the teenage population.
Chatroom was first performed as part of the 2005 National Theatre Connections season, an annual festival of new plays for youth theaters and schools. It received its first professional production in the Cottesloe auditorium of the National Theatre, London, on 10 March 2006. Learn more about this performance here.
2018
Put Your Best Foot Forward: Auditions
Sep to Nov 2018
Led by Marcelo Javier
We often see very talented young performers who struggle showcasing their best self in front of people they do not know. After all, acting and auditioning are two different beasts. This class is for students who are interested in learning how to best present themselves in an audition, covering everything from etiquette to how to pick material.
Script Analysis & Character Development
Sep to Nov 2018
Led by Claudio Andres Silva Restrepo
The purpose of this class is to teach a systematic approach to script analysis to help actors and directors approach their material with all the necessary tools to vividly and truly play the story they aim to share. The course will include two written assignments. A critical essay of a play read in class or seen as part of the course curriculum. The course will include three viewings of live performances. By the end of the course we should have a thorough proposal of the play that includes ideas for all production elements.This course is designed to be followed by a production course that culminates in a fully mounted student production of a play in a 14 week rehearsal period the following semester.