In a June 18 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, writer Jamie Gumbrecht explained how a group of dedicated women help struggling girls get their lives back on track through the magic of drama:
Since Synchronicity Performance Group began its Playmaking for Girls program in 2002, it has put dozens of runaways, teen mothers, dropouts and abuse survivors on stage as performers. ...According to the program's website, Playmaking for Girls is "a community outreach program, dedicated to engaging young women in the creation of theatre as a tool for creative expression, community healing and personal growth." The program consists of four components -- an afterschool program, detention center workshops, satellite workshops, and the public performance.
They pore over short plays about bad boyfriends, great girlfriends, supportive grandmothers, an evil witch, a pit bull named Spike, and a white Persian cat named Fluffy. They're hard stories about loss, parenthood and juvenile justice, but they almost always have happy endings.
Each girl is in at least two plays, and she has to mold each character's identity, filling in the gaps left by teenage playwrights.
Posted By: Aspen/CRC