By Sue D. Sullivan, Citi Performing Arts Center

For Citi Performing Arts Center, 31 talented Boston-area teens, and over 11,000 unsuspecting audience members, the Summer of 2011 will be remembered for over 131 extraordinary performances bursting from the most ordinary of places.

Last Spring, Citi Center’s Education team went out in search of talented teens to be a part of the inaugural City Spotlights Leadership Program. Recognizing the lack of job opportunities for Boston’s teens, Citi Center reframed its summer program to instill leadership, professional, and performance skills in a creative setting. Inspired by the Knight Foundation’s “Random Acts of Culture,” and its mission of taking art out of the performance halls and into the community, the program’s capstone event tweaked this concept by replacing professional artists with teens and expanding the number of performances from one to over a hundred.

Over five weeks, thirty-one youth immersed themselves in hip hop culture and street theatre, learning music, dance, acting and playwriting skills while community partners led cyber-bullying, healthy relationships, and interviewing workshops. The teens were also encouraged to reflect on their experiences and chronicle their creative journey through weekly blogs:

“We come from different backgrounds, we come from everywhere. But we’re all here for one reason and one reason only: to perform. Our love of performance binds us better than anything ever could. Where will we go when we part? The memories made will stay forever in my heart.”

Ela

The teens devised original scripts, songs, and choreography inspired by self-identified themes–Love and Relationships, Individuality, and Following Your Dreams—and after four weeks, they were ready for primetime. Youth went out into the community and transformed everyday spaces into spontaneous stages. As teens jumped into their roles, bystanders on busy street corners, packed plazas, crowded subway cars, and office buildings found themselves in the midst of an impromptu performance. 

Just tryna find the real me

Living invisibly

Away from all the pain

And away from all the strain

From tryna be perfect

It’s just not worth it

Excerpt from “Individuality” script

And just as quickly as the performance began, it was over, daily life resumed, and the teens moved on to another site and another unsuspecting audience. In five days, the youth led 131 performances across 19 Boston neighborhoods and reached a total of 11,000 audience members. In just one summer, the thirty-one teen leaders left an indelible mark on the city by bringing their community together for a singular moment in live performance and their empowering words and songs still resound in Boston’s streets and inside themselves.

“Every day was a joy and a gift to be here with new people and friends, showing the talents I have.  I walk to the train to come here and every day I pick my head up just a little bit more to show that I was ready for the new day to come.”

-Shaleah

Learn more about the program on Citi Performing Arts Center’s Blog, in Incite/Insight Magazine, and the Boston Globe which profiled one of the participants on its front-page.