| Run by Austin’s acclaimed theatre company, Rude Mechs, Off Center Teens is a theatre summer camp program in which 13 to 16 year-olds write, create, publish, and perform original works for the stage drawn from their own life experiences. This year, we are thrilled to continue our partnership with Sun Dragon Martial Arts and Self Defense. Sun Dragon is a non-profit with a 25-year history of violence prevention education in Austin. Their considerable talents and experience will help Off Center Teens build even more strength, confidence and self-care.
Teens who participate in Off Center Teens are given space, materials, skills, and guidance as they work individually and as a group to generate poems, stories, songs, collages, dances, and drawings from their life experiences. They then craft this material into a live performance and a published anthology which is available to the audience, free of charge, before and after the public performances.
On Saturday June 27th and Sunday 28th at 2:00 p.m., the participants will take the stage and transform their autobiographical writing into powerful and personal public performances at The Off Center, Rude Mechs’ performance home in East Austin.
Off Center Teens is led by former Grrl Action Program Co-Directors Madge Darlington and Jodi Jinks, and enhanced by workshops from professional guest artists with expertise in movement and writing. Grrl Action is the predecessor to Off Center Teens, serving young women since 2000.
Off Center Teens is made possible by generous support from The John F. Kenny Writing Center Fund. Rude Mechs is supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. |
