Houston Young Playwrights Exchange (HYPE)

For the eleventh consecutive year, the Alley Theatre is providing young aspiring playwrights the chance to improve and expand their writing skills in its summer program, Houston Young Playwrights Exchange (HYPE). Six plays by local teens have been selected to undergo development in a professional forum, guided by the Alley’s staff, with the program culminating in a three-day public showcase of their work as staged readings. This year’s participants have written plays ranging in subject matter from Adam and Eve to narcolepsy to nut farmers in a rural Asian village. Their styles vary from lighthearted comedy to dramatic thriller.

Adam & Eve
By Erik Holm
A modern re-telling of the infamous tragedy of man’s fall in a alternative light with far less dramatics than fire and brimstone. Through lighthearted comedy it is revealed that perhaps Adam was an unfair chauvinist and Eve was merely after the equality she deserved! Adam and Eve suggests that the war of the sexes might have begun with the creation of humankind!

Hera’s Legacy
By James Canfield
In Hera’s Legacy the manipulative Lilith Williams whips up a whirlwind of mischief at her boarding school until she comes up against her guidance counselor, Miss Camp. A battle of wills ensues that reeks havoc on the structure of the school and those who get in Lilith’s way.

Dream On
By Stephanie Spoleti
Davey is a teenager with both all the problems of every adolescent and one not-so-normal obstacle: narcolepsy. Unfortunately, Davey begins to slip seamlessly between his perfect reality and nightmarish daydreams. As the line between reality and imagination begins to blur, the truth of Davey’s world suddenly becomes clear in this thriller.

Robustan
By Miguel Lavalle
Mitya is disillusioned with his life as a nut farmer in a dissolute, rural Asian village. When he escapes away to visit his brother, Ivan, he is introduced to the glorious coffee “Laaatayeh.” Shenanigans result as Mitya tries to advertise his home as a place that would attract the popular store of “Laatayehs,” only to find the key to advancement is his own farmland.

Any Change of Light
by Hannah Disewski
The women of Caroline’s family are irrevocably connected to the roots in the garden of her home. The garden has been overgrown since a tragedy four years ago, yet Caroline, her mother and aunt still come back to be comforted by the shelter & darkness the trees provide. In this little grove the women seek solace and safety from a disheartening reality.

A Gramophone
By Samuel Mayer
As soon as he was born, Franklin’s mother left him to live with his grandfather so she could pursue a career as a touring actress. Excited anticipation builds when Franklin’s mother writes to him that she is coming for a visit. The grandfather must balance the difficult task of allowing Franklin the enjoyment of the promise and knowing that his daughter is filling the boy with false hope.