Southampton - Stony Brook Southampton's M.F.A. in Writing and Literature program announces the first annual performance of the Young American Writers Project (YAWP), an integral part of the university's commitment to Long Island middle school and high school students. On Saturday, April 25 at 7 p.m., nine short plays written and performed by middle school students from five area schools – Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor's Pierson, Shelter Island, The Ross School and Eastport South Manor – will be presented at Stony Brook Southampton's Avram Theatre.

Directed by professional directors, the plays encompass a wide array of genres - from zany, comic fantasy to heartfelt, serious drama – and address a number of topics, ranging from time travel to teenage angst to family holiday madness.

The YAWP Project is dedicated to mentoring young people in the development of creative expression and critical thinking through writing, and the playwriting curriculum sends professional teaching artists into classrooms twice weekly over two months, guiding students in writing their own plays. Students learn the basic elements of dramatic writing - how to develop ideas, characters, themes, dialog and scenes. One play from each participating class was selected for production at Stony Brook Southampton's Avram Theater.

The YAWP is helmed by Emma Walton Hamilton as Executive Director and Will Chandler as Program Director. Emma Walton Hamilton is a bestselling children's book author, editor and arts educator. A Co-Founder of Bay Street Theatre, she served as the theatre's Co-Artistic Director, and subsequently Director of Education and Programming for Young Audiences for 13 years. Will Chandler, an American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Nicholl Fellowship screenwriter, also served as Education Director and a Teaching Artist for Bay Street Theatre. He has written a number of screenplays for clients ranging from Sony Pictures to actor Russell Crowe and has been a story analyst/script doctor for ABC, CBS, NBC, Viacom and HBO, among others.

Brian Pina and Nick Stevens from Bridgehampton School.

"When we go into schools, we work closely with classroom teachers as we convey the basic elements of dramatic writing," Chandler said. "And while learning dramatic writing improves overall writing skills, what we're really teaching them is that each student has a 'voice.' And we want to hear it."

"Dramatic writing and production skills give young people unparalleled lessons in communication and collaboration," Walton Hamilton added. "It enriches their confidence, and has a direct impact on their ability to become engaged and compassionate citizens in later life. This project represents a wonderful synergy between all the creative disciplines and values about which I am passionate."

Beginning in Fall 2009, more YAWP programs will be available to high and middle schools. The curricula will encompass the other disciplines represented by Stony Brook Southampton's M.F.A. program in Writing and Literature, including personal essay, poetry, screenwriting and fiction. Workshops will be offered to schools across Suffolk County in various formats. A summer workshop will also be offered in conjunction with the Stony Brook Southampton Summer Writers Conference.

According to Walton Hamilton "The Young American Writers Project gives us a chance to give back to a community that has so faithfully supported us over the years," Reeves said. "It's a wonderful way for us to reach - and to help shape - the next generation of American writers, as well as an ideal way to offer training and teaching experience as teaching artists for our very talented graduates and graduate students."

For curriculum development and program design, the YAWP administrators will draw on the substantial strengths of the Stony Brook Southampton M.F.A. faculty, including novelist and M.F.A. director Robert Reeves; author and Distinguished University Professor Roger Rosenblatt; recent Whiting Award-winning poet Julie Sheehan; best-selling memoirist and editor-in-chief of The Southampton Review, Lou Ann Walker; and screenwriter and Emmy award-winning producer Annette Handley Chandler.

Admission for the Young American Writers Project festival of student plays is free. For further ticket information and to reserve your seat, visit www.stonybrook.edu/southampton or email Will Chandler at william.chandler@stonybrook.edu.