Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble

Strengthening the voices of young artists through theater and creative learning to empower self and community

Current and Recent Projects

Safe Gun Storage: A PSA by EYTE

EYTE Students dramatize the critical importance of proper gun safety around children. Highlighting the stark reality that gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in the US, this video references Ethan’s Law to advocate for secure firearm storage

 

 

On the same evening across the country, theaters, schools, and community groups stage readings of a script comprised of six (6) new 10-minute plays by teen writers confronting gun violence, selected by a committee of nationally-renowned playwrights out of plays received in our Call for Submissions.

Our mission with the Oral History project aims to collect and preserve our Elizabeth’s stories in order to build connections among people and create radical empathy toward a safe world. 

This project is dedicated to reimagining and exploring community safety. We hope to use 360 and unreal engine technology too deepen conversations about our experiences and build collective empathy.

This past summer, our Walking the Beat theater workshops took place in both Elizabeth, NJ and Los Angeles, CA involving over 40 students and police officers. Culminating 9-week programs, each workshop shared powerful and original performances with their communities that were inspired by honest conversations about gun violence and community safety: protect your heART in Elizabeth and FLICKER in Los Angeles.

EYTE was founded on the unceded land of the Munsee Lenape peoples. I ask you to join me in acknowledging the Musee Lenape community, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations.

EYTE also acknowledges that it was founded upon exclusions and erasures of many Indigenous peoples, including those on whose land this institution is located. This acknowledgement demonstrates a commitment to beginning the process of working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.

Your contribution to the Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble makes you an ally in our efforts to help young people build capacity for social change through art-making.

As an organization committed to deepening artistic engagement in communities, while fighting for justice, we are looking for your support!

Join our mission now.