Youth Theatre Workshop (YTW)
In 2001, the Partnership and APRODEHNI began to incorporate the young people of El Salvador and Long Island into their efforts to create strong bridges between the two countries.
It started out with a casual comment back in 1996. Gil Geremias Pintin, then a worker with APRODHENI and now its executive director, mentioned to members of the Partnership that they had just started a youth theatre program. The initiative was one of several arts and recreational initiatives launched to steer children and youth in El Salvador away from the growing influence of drugs and American-style gangs in even isolated rural communities. One member of the Partnership group, Lois Anne DeLong, responded to this comment with the words “I have a theatre background.” Gil smiled and asked, “Can you come back?”
Lois did, the following year, and the seeds of a small miracle were planted. It started slow. From 1996 through 1999, Lois would spend part of one week each year with the “Creaciones” youth theatre program, bringing down make-up, wigs, costume pieces, and theatre training exercises translated into Spanish. She helped out where she could in a small supporting role while Gil lead the group to produce original dramas that dealt directly with issues pertinent to their lives and experiences—homelessness, poverty, and drug abuse—as well as the hopes and dreams that keep the poorest children and youth going in the face of adversity.
During this time, Lois was involved in founding a youth theatre program of her own—GSG Productions, or Godsongs Group—in the town of Brentwood on Long Island. Godsongs performed their first show in February of 2000 and, that summer, she traveled solo to explore the possibility of a theatre exchange program, a workshop where members of Godsongs and “Creaciones” could get together for a week of theatre training, improvisations, and the creation and performance of an original, bilingual three-act play. Gil quickly agreed and, the following summer, Lois returned with Godsongs cofounder Barbara Antonucci and four young people—Jamie Hile, Kaitlyn Hile, Kristina Dewey, and Michael Antonucci. The thinking was that building this trip around the production and presentation of a play opened a natural bridge to bring together the young people of El Salvador and Long Island. Since these kids already had something in common—a love of doing shows—it gave them something on which to build friendships.
And, build friendships it did. The bonds that formed that week between the Brentwood group and “Creaciones” were so strong, there was no question that the program would continue.
This year, the 7th Annual “YTW” was held in El Salvador. Previously, three workshops had been held in each country—the program alternates to give both groups a chance to see their friends’ home communities—and about 45 different youth have taken part. But the impact of YTW goes well beyond the building of acting talents and friendships in a small group of teens. Under the slogan “Changing Lives Dramatically,” for this program inevitably does, YTW helps to supplement the work of “Creaciones.” It is also changing attitudes towards our country, as people in the villages in which we work learn that people in the U.S. have large, loving hearts, and can care about the rest of the world. For the Long Island youth, it’s an eye-opening experience as they witness both the grinding realities of poverty AND the inner strength and pride of those doing all in their power to rise above it. Perhaps best of all, the trip is a constant reminder of something Christians often pay lip service to, but rarely get to experience in real life—that we truly are “a family under one sky.”
If you are interested in participating in, or supporting the work of, YTW, please contact Long Island Project Director Lois Anne DeLong at 631-398-1191 or via e-mail at betwink13@optonline.net.