Young Playwrights Mini-Documentary Shines the Spotlight on the Student’s Point of View
Every year since 2015, the Young Playwrights Project has unleashed the imaginations of Chautauqua County students through the art of playwriting. In 2025, over 500 third and fourth grade students wrote plays about the silly and the serious, giving us a peek into the world from their point of view. Now, we present a mini-documentary that pulls back the curtain and shines a spotlight on the experience of one student and her in the Young Playwrights Project.
This video follows Ring Elementary third grade student Thea Baehr and her teacher Beth Johnson through the program’s 2025 cycle. In the video, Mrs. Johnson shares her thoughts on how the Young Playwrights Project helps students learn and grow, and Thea talks about the ups and downs of the playwriting process.
Also featured are teaching artists Gaby Hornig and Emily Olcott, who introduced playwriting to Thea’s classroom, and teaching artists Marissa Miller and Marty Miller, who acted out Thea’s play with community volunteer Kendall Crolius and Chautauqua Institution staff member Carolyn Snider.
Nine schools are slated to participate this academic year, including Bush, Fletcher, Lincoln, Love and Ring elementary schools in Jamestown; Chautauqua Lake Central School; Clymer Central School; Hewes BOCES Educational Center and — returning to the program this year — Panama Central School.