Mind Matters Most: a Mental Health Cabaret
New Play @ The Perch at Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center, 289 Main Street, Greenfield on Sunday, June 23rd at 7 pm
Valley Playwright Mentoring (VPM) is a Piti Theatre program for teenagers where participants transform challenging experiences into theatre productions and podcasts.
On Sunday June 23rd at 7 pm a group of teens who have been rehearsing since November in Greenfield will present the culmination of their 2023 – 2024 season with a “Mental Health Cabaret” addressing topics like healthy relationships, family conflict and suicide with a combination of humor and poignancy. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with the cast and Artistic Mentors. Admission is free and reservations recommended at ptco.org/vpm. The performance is geared for ages 13+ given some mature themes.
Mind Matters Most is directed by Piti Theatre Co-Artistic Director Jonathan Mirin, Teaching Artist Laura Josephs and the ensemble. This year local 16 year old podcast creator Vala Jenczyk has joined the team as a scriptwriter. Mirin relates that “last year the group decided to have gun violence be the focus after a number of them experienced a lockdown at Greenfield High. This year, they decided to dive into teen mental health and they’ve done a great job of making tough situations understandable, sympathetic and even finding lighter moments. Anyone who enjoys theater or wants a real time snapshot of what young people are thinking about will get a lot from this production.” Jenczyk adds: “working the main duo’s silly, theatrical dynamic into the improvisational material this group has given me has been a lot of fun and helped me grow as a writer. This has been a great creative experience for me and the rest of the team.”
VPM is accepting registrations from new participants for October, 2024 for VPM troupes in Greenfield, Holyoke and Shelburne Falls. The program, which offers stipends to actor-playwrights who complete the six month mentorship, is made possible through the generous support of Mass Cultural Council’s YouthReach program, Community Foundation of Western MA, the Mount Pleasant Foudation, the Charles H. Hall Foundation, the Markham-Nathan Foundation, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and Swiss Harmony. VPM was inspired by Barrington Stage Company’s Playwright Mentoring Project.
About Piti Theatre Co.
Based in Shelburne Falls, MA and Les Ponts-de-Martel, Switzerland, Piti Theatre Company was founded in 2004 by American playwright/actor Jonathan Mirin and Swiss choreographer and visual artist Godeliève Richard. Piti (pronounced “pea-tea”) is an ancient Indian (Pali) word translatable as “joy” or “rapture.” Piti programming plants seeds joy, sustainability and justice and the troupe recently successfully completed a capital campaign to launch Bloom, a Center for Arts & Ecology in Charlemont. ptco.org
