(UNION, NJ) -- Premiere Stages, the professional theatre company in residence at Kean University, has partnered with Prevention Links to offer a seven-week, in-school playwriting residency for the Raymond Lesniak ESH Recovery High School at Kean. The residency, for high school students in recovery from a substance use condition, will culminate in a public presentation of student-written plays read by professional actors on Friday, April 24 at 6 p.m. in Kean University’s Little Theatre, located in the University Center at 1000 Morris Avenue in Union. This residency marks the second collaboration between Premiere Stages and Prevention Links, which previously served as a community partner on Premiere’s 2013 production of Erik Gernand’s The Beautiful Dark.
“Premiere Stages is very excited to work with Prevention Links to showcase the work of these talented students and celebrate the launch of the Raymond Lesniak ESH Recovery High School,” said John J. Wooten, producing artistic director of Premiere Stages.
The Raymond Lesniak ESH Recovery High School’s mission is to provide a high-quality educational, enrichment, and recovery support program that offers a safe, sober and supportive school environment where students and their recovery efforts are understood, valued and fostered. Its goals are to reduce the relapse rate amongst New Jersey youth returning to the community after substance abuse treatment; support parental and community involvement and provide opportunities for literacy and related educational development to the families of participating youth; and to establish a set of Best Practices in order to create a replicable model for New Jersey. For more information, please visit http://preventionlinks.org/recoveryhs.
“Working with Premiere Stages has given our students an opportunity to explore their creativity and take healthy risks,” said Morgan Thompson, the school’s recovery coach. “Completing this project will give them something tangible to be proud of, knowing it came from their own ideas and hard work.”
Premiere Stages’ playwriting residencies are specifically designed to support classroom learning objectives and the Common Core Curriculum, reinforcing literacy skills, encouraging creativity and collaboration, and bolstering student self-esteem. Professional teaching artists work closely with classroom teachers to specifically tailor each residency to the needs of the students. Over the course of seven weeks, students learn the basics of playwriting and collaborate to write original short plays for the stage. Each residency culminates in a public presentation of the students’ work, as performed by professional actors.
Prevention Links is a private, not-for-profit organization which takes a leadership role in the prevention of drugs, alcohol, tobacco and related issues. With community being defined as any environment where people live, work, or learn, the goal of Prevention Links is to pull together all available resources to eliminate the deleterious effects of drugs, alcohol, violence, and inadequate educational and health institutions in our communities. Prevention Links focuses on identifying and enhancing existing strengths within the individual, family, school, and work setting to serve as the first and most valuable resource in sustainable revitalization of all types of community. Prevention Links implements training programs and evidence-based strategies, practices and programs that are outcome-based and empower all segments of a community to be actively engaged in changing their environments. Additional information on Prevention Links can be found at http://preventionlinks.org.
Premiere Stages’ playwriting residencies are just one facet of Premiere’s larger educational initiative, known as the Premiere Play Factory. Play Factory programming also includes Camp Premiere, a summer theatre camp for middle and high school students, and the Play Factory Performance Series, an annual summer performance series featuring dynamic, professional theatre presentations designed specifically for young audiences.
For more details regarding the Premiere Play Factory Residency Program, please call 908-737-4092 or contact Premiere’s staff via email at premiere@kean.edu.
