PlayWrite Newsletter January 2025
It's a rare and powerful experience to be seen and heard, not as a victim or a statistic, but as a human being with a unique story to tell.―Lynda Dodds
Achievements & Opportunities
We start the New Year with gratitude for our accomplishments and a resounding THANK YOU to all who supported PlayWrite, Inc. in 2024. We could not do our life-changing work with “youth at the edge” without you. To those planning to support us in 2025, here’s a look ahead. . .
Coming Up
In April, PlayWrite will deliver two workshops for teen residents of SAGE, a “safe and secure environment in which youth can experience Support, Achieve their goals, Grow, and become Empowered.”
The SAGE Residential Program provides long-term treatment and stabilization for survivors of sex trafficking, ages 11–17. SAGE is a collaborative program of agency partners Morrison Child & Family Services and PPS DART School (“Discovering And Rising Together”), which provides a vibrant, caring learning community for children and youth in long-term care and treatment.
We are pleased to partner with SAGE for the first time with this workshop opportunity and appreciate Portland Public Schools and DART for helping make it happen.
We’re revising our PlayWrite coach/mentor training to include more trauma-informed curriculum, for new coaches and veterans alike. Want to support our training efforts? Or our work with trafficking victims? Donate here.
In student-writer Nico’s play The Message, John San Nicolas played Kurt, a ram, and Mele Satsuma played Benny, an old green bottle (with a message).
Workshop Wrap-Up
Our workshop with Mt. Scott Learning Center climaxed with a public performance on Monday, December 16, at the new Holgate Library. The audience was enthusiastic and the student-written plays were stunningly good and insightful. The kids who participated were justly pleased and proud of themselves and each other.
The many transformative connections made through our long-time relationship with Mt. Scott are an example of the power of PlayWrite’s unique programming for youth at the edge. Our thanks to Mt. Scott for their continued partnership!
Breaking It Down
A PlayWrite workshop costs approximately $1600 per student ($13,000 per average 8-student workshop, including materials and meals for all participants). In keeping with our mission, workshops are free of charge to students and their families.
To the point, it costs a lot to do the unique work we do because of the critical one-on-one aspect. We simply cannot create meaningful impact for at-risk kids like April’s upcoming SAGE workshop without our PlayWrite friends and supporters. Donate as you’re able and transform a life.
Thank Yous
PlayWrite has recently been awarded grant funding from the Herbert A. Templeton Foundation and Pacific Power Foundation.
We are grateful to both for their many years of support for our work with young people.
News About PlayWrite People
On Stage, In Class
PlayWrite Actor Jerilyn Armstrong stars as Katie in Profile Theatre's upcoming production of Samsara by Lauren Yee (playwright of Cambodian Rock Band, et al.). Katie and Craig are having a baby… with a surrogate… who lives in India. As all three “parents” anxiously wait for the baby to be born, flights of fancy attack them from all sides, in the form of an unctuous Frenchman and a smart-mouthed fetus. A smart, whimsical take on modern day colonialism. Previews January 23 & 24. Runs January 25―February 9. Information & tickets here.
PlayWrite Coach/Actor Chris Harder has been teaching Authentic Connection, his fun, supportive acting class for 15 years. Using the Meisner technique, learn to build connection through attentive observation, listening, repetition, and moment-to-moment authentic responses. Open to all levels. Classes upcoming. Dates & registration here.
Creating Connections
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