Performing in spite of the mild to heavy rains last Sunday, 16-year-old Mikee Beronio was ecstatic, “I feel so lucky to be part of this festival and share our stories and hopes.”
Mikee was part of the Festival of Original Teen Plays, who together with other teens from the Little Children of the Philippines, performed a comical but bittersweet play on a topic close to their heart– child labor.
Other participating teens came from the Kalauman Development Center and Piapi High School, tackling issues of their choice such as computer addiction, substance abuse, and bullying among teenagers. The plays were all crafted by the teens themselves, guided and polished by their mentors from the Youth Advocates through Theater Arts.
The Festival was part of YATTA’s project called Youth Think and Act which aims to raise awareness about pressing youth issues in our communities today while promoting responsible behavior among teens.
Launched last November with an informance on teenage pregnancy and gang-violence, YATTA artist-trainors then designed and conducted a four-day workshop that combined life skills such as self-awareness, visioning, mapping and debate, with exploration of gender-related issues of adolescents, and utilizing theater as a method and workshop output.
The outputs were subsequently developed into short plays that were performed at the Piapi High School and at the Tayada sa Parke at Quezon Park last March 24th and 25th respectively.
The Youth Think and Act project was supported by the United Evangelical Mission through the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.
For interested groups, please contact 0917-794-9901. (John Lumapay)
