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Philadelphia Young Playwrights' intensive training program promotes literacy, creativity, problem solving, academic skills, motivation and self-empowerment for students with varying backgrounds and abilities in grades K-12. Students care about their stories, grow excited about the playwriting proves and assume ownership of their writing. When students write about their lives, they are empowered to change them. Young Playwrights shapes the way teachers teach by incorporating arts education into classrooms and across curricula, pairing a professional teaching artist with a classroom teacher. The two work together as an Artistic Team to introduce playwriting and theatre to constituencies who might not otherwise have been exposed to theatre participation. Young Playwrights improves arts accessibility, fosters community, and develops diverse, aesthetically aware new audiences for the future. Since 1987, approximately 60 professional playwrights have led workshops, and nearly all of Philadelphia's professional theatre companies have participated by performing, producing, or directing student works. Nearly 55,000 students have seen peers' work produced in class or by professionals. Young Playwrights' Literary Committee includes 60 educators, writers, parents, and former Young Playwrights students who read and critique each student script.