Mind the Gap is a free workshop in which half of the participants are elders ages 60 and up, and half are teenagers ages 14-18. Over the course of 10 sessions, participants from each age group work in pairs to interview each other and write a play inspired by their partner’s personal stories. Each session culminates with an invited presentation in which participants’ work is read by professional actors.
NYTW believes that the act of investigating, listening and empathizing with someone of another generation, while using playwriting as a tool to understand and represent their unique experience, allows participants to broaden their perspective, see the other generation in a new light and take on the task of telling someone else’s story with respect and understanding. Reciprocally, the act of sharing one’s own stories and ultimately seeing them interpreted through another’s eyes allows participants to gain insights into their own lives and begin to make meaning out of their personal narratives.
The goals of the program are both to teach writing and theatre skills as well as to foster better communication and understanding between these two age groups.
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TRCS Leadership Program 