Y.E.P. We Are!

The Youth Exchange Project began in the summer of 2017 when founder, Shawnna Pledger, received a Cultural Vision Grant from the Arts and Science Council. The idea was to use theatre to help kids from the local refugee community tell their personal stories. This summer of  2019 we have expanded the program to include teens from other diverse backgrounds to share their stories as well. This will culminate in an original piece of theatre based on these experiences. The bigger idea is to use theatre to…

• Empower students to identify and speak their stories.
• Validate people, especially compromised communities, who are not often (or allowed to be) seen or heard.
• Create empathy by hearing, seeing and/or performing other people’s stories.
• Encourage analysis and imagine different cultures and experiences.
• Develop language skills through both written and spoken word.
• Celebrate differing cultures and experiences.