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Cast members rehearse for their debut on September 10. People around the country are preparing to observe the 10th anniversary of the tragedy known as 9/11. On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States and more than 3,000 people died. A group of young people in New York City, where the terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, are remembering the event in their own way. Together, they wrote a play to explore the impact of Spetember 11 on their lives. The final play is called Ten Years Later: Voices from the Post-9/11 Generation Speak. Co-director Ashley Marinaccio told Scholastic News, “It is completely youth driven. It focuses on the cultural aftermath of what it means to be a kid after 9/11.” The writers and performers range from 9 to 23 years old. The youngest members of the group were not yet born when the events of 9/11 occurred. Others were children or young teens. Together, they interviewed community members, participated in writing exercises, and wrote songs to create an original play based on their experiences in New York following September 11. A DIFFERENT AMERICA Heightened security in buildings and airports and U.S. involvement in wars in the Middle East are a few of the ways the 9/11 terrorist attacks changed life in the United States. Many young people growing up in the past 10 years don’t clearly remember what life was like before the tragedy. “My first view of the Manhattan skyline was without the towers,” cast member Emily Rupp, now 21, says in the play. “When I first saw it, I just tried to imagine what it could’ve looked like. . . . My Manhattan skyline will always be an unfinished puzzle to me.” Shortly after 9/11, the U.S. sent American troops to Afghanistan to try to find those who had planned the attacks. Thousands of troops remain there. Many cast members do not remember a time when the United States was not at war. The play explores this through monologues and scenes. Other themes include the meaning of patriotism and increased security in American life. The first performance will take place on September 10 at Pace University in New York City as part of a larger memorial program. This performance is just one way people around the country are preparing for the anniversary. On September 11, a memorial honoring victims will be dedicated at Ground Zero, the site where the Twin Towers once stood. Ceremonies of remembrance will also take place at the two other sites where the terrorists crashed hijacked planes—at the Pentagon, near Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Scores of other services and events will mark the day around the nation as Americans seek to honor the memories of the victims.Being a Kid After 9/11
Young performers in New York City explore what it means to grow up after the world changed
TEN YEARS LATER OPENS AT PETER JAY SHARP THEATER Co-Op Theatre East and Project Girl Performance Collective present: TEN YEARS LATER: VOICES FROM THE POST-9/11 GENERATION SPEAK Conceived and Directed by Ashley Marinaccio, Robert A. K. Gonyo and Daniel Mendoza Produced by Jessica Greer Morris Monday, September 12, 2011 8:00 pm Peter Jay Sharp Theater 416 West 42nd Street - New York Tickets available through Ticket Central $20 General Admission $15 Student/Senior Discount
Peter Jay Sharp Theater at 416 West 42nd Street - New York
Tickets on sale now! Contact Ticket Central!
August 22, 2011, New York, NY – Co-Op Theatre East and Project Girl Performance Collective debuts a cutting-edge, ensemble-devised play, created by youth between the ages of 9 and 23, Ten Years Later explores the impact of the September 11th terrorist attacks on youth. The young cast explores what it means to be coming of age in a post-9/11 society as a young person living in the shadow of Twin Towers that most of them have never seen. “My first view of the Manhattan skyline was without the towers,” said cast member Emily Rupp. “When I first saw it, I tried to imagine what it could’ve looked like. It was like putting together a puzzle.”
The “Ten Years Later” cast may not have seen the World Trade Center but they have been infinitely affected by the disaster as evident from their revealing stories and struggles. Terrorism, fundamentalism, orange alerts, airport security, subway sniffing dogs and tea party patriotism, as you will see in the show, weigh heavily on the minds and hearts of today’s youth.
Ten Years Later: Voices from the Post 9/11 Generation Speak opens 8:00 pm on September 12th, 2011 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre and then tours the tri-State area. Please contact Casey Cleverly at casey@cooptheatreeast.org if you have any questions or would like to book the show this Fall.
About Co-Op Theatre East: Founded in Spring 2008 by three graduates of the Performance Studies program at Tisch School of the Arts, Co-Op Theatre East produces socially minded performance that deals with the questions of today, the situations we find ourselves immersed in as New Yorkers, Americas, and world citizens at this moment. Co-Op Theatre East believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. We provide an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. www.cooptheatreeast.org.
About Project Girl Performance Collective: "It was inspiring to see bright, confident young women holding forth onstage" (The New Yorker, September 3, 2010) was the response to the Collective’s most recent show at The Fringe Festival. Project Girl Performance Collective (PGPC) empowers young women by creating a safe space to address contemporary social, political and cultural issues through the performing arts and written word. The Project Girl Performance Collective is committed to the idea of theatre and performance as a medium for awareness, action and social change. www.
The cast includes
Kate Bralower (10, Manhattan)
Tiffani-Amber DiGrazia (9, Queens)
Samantha Phillips (15, Westchester)
Monica Furman (15, Brooklyn)
Arianna Hanson (15, Bronx)
Hank Chen (23, Washington, D. C.)
Nick Wolf (21, New Jersey)
Stacey Oliver (19, Connecticut)
Deanna Alexandra (16, Long Island)
Emily Rupp (21, Brooklyn)
Peter Kendall (20, New Jersey)
Mariah Adkins (23, Brooklyn)
Haleigh Spasjevich (22, Manhattan)
Laura Killeen (23, United Kingdom).
It is directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Robert A. K. Gonyo, Artistic Directors of Co-Op Theatre East, Assistant Directed & Stage Managed by Daniel Mendoza and produced by Jessica Greer Morris, Executive Director of the Project Girl Performance Collective, 9/11 Worker and Chair of the World Trade Center Community Advisory Board (2001-2004).