Kristen Lynch On Arts In Education, The Importance Of Expression & Starting The Young Players Theater

Native Brooklynite Kristen Lynch started dancing at the age of four, and her enthusiasm for the stage hasn’t waned since. As the founder and artistic director of South Slope’s Young Players Theater, Kristen has carried on the tradition her mentor Patti Donn taught her, exposing Kings County youth to the joys of expression through movement, improvisation, and above all, creative play.

“Patti Donn’s studio was my second home,” says Kristen, who spent her formative years at the Utica Avenue space. “I made friends there, and sort of grew up there. It was an outlet that I really needed. It was a place I always felt free to be different or just to be me; I felt safe and hopeful.

“Making art does that; it provides hope, and celebrates the imagination, and encourages dreaming big. It opened up my world and revealed a path to me that my parents might not have been able to provide for me on their own. My parents must have seen what dancing did for me, and they did whatever they could support me.”

Following her tenure at Patti Donn’s school, Kristen says her father drove her into Manhattan twice a week for classes at the Joffrey Ballet School. Later, she studied ballet at teacher Madame Yuskavitch’s “tiny studio” in 72 Street’s Hotel Olcott. For high school, she attended LaGuardia‘s dance program.

“It was transformative to meet kids from all over the city,” Kristen says, “and to be exposed to a world outside of my Brooklyn neighborhood. The dance department at LaGuardia was on the eighth floor; the drama department was in the basement, each a microcosm. I never studied theater, but I was always drawn to the ‘drama kids.’ So many of my best friendships started in the basement of LaGuardia. We are all still friends, now watching each other’s kids grow up and our careers take shape, and every one of those friends has found a way to keep art at the center of their lives.

“Throughout the years I had been in a few community theater productions as a dancer. The idea of acting was very exciting to me — but also very scary. I didn’t like the sound of my voice, and felt shy. My dance teachers at LaGuardia knew that I loved musical theater, and also saw that I liked telling stories through dance, so they invited me to a summer program at Circle in the Square Theater for high school students.

“It was the summer of my junior year,” Kristen says. “A life-changing time.”

Kristen’s first monologue was performed as the Bronx-bred title character from John Patrick Shanley’s Savage in Limbo.

“Like the other characters in the play,” says Kristen, “Savage feels stuck and stagnant, but wants to make change for the better. Her words became my own; I became her physically and never felt more connected to something. I decided that summer, that this is what I wanted to do.”

Kristen applied to theater programs for college, ending up in NYU’s esteemed TISCH Drama Program. During her junior year, she was directed in a play in London by Murat Ozcan, who she would later marry and move with to Paris.

“My husband and I made a life together in theater,” she says. “Our involvement in the arts made it possible to work with people from all over the world. We have been very lucky in that way.”

Sixteen years ago, they moved to Park Slope. Since then, Murat opened Couleur Café — and, of course, Kristen began her business. Before forming the Young Players Theater, however, Kristen worked with organizations including TADA!, Young Audiences NY, Reader’s Theater Workshop, and Read to Me.

“In New York we are surrounded by the arts, but not everyone has access,” Kristen says. However, “Arts programming can really enrich school culture. We see it everyday. I am not saying anything new here, but it is worth saying and it is so important to advocate for. Students, teachers, and administration welcome guest artists into the school and the collaborations that come out of these partnerships are transformative for everyone.”

In her career as a teaching artist, Kristen says she has worked with pupils ranging everywhere from elementary age students in Canarsie to Harlem-based teen mothers in a single day — and she couldn’t have been happier. The idea for YPT came to her while she was pregnant with her second child, and realized she’d like to start a program close to home. Soon, she was teaching drama in PS 107‘s after school program; not long after that, she began holiday break courses at the Brooklyn Free Space.

“Building my own program gave me so much freedom,” Kristen says, “which was both exciting scary. Very early on, I realized that I wanted Young Players Theater to be a place where kids worked collaboratively to create their own performance pieces. I would choose themes and provide stimuli for them to explore as a starting point for them to create and write their own pieces of theater. We used improvisation and theater games, and we would just play! They would have time and space to explore and build.

“I tried to guide without imposing. I listened to the kids and learned from them and let them lead and guide, too. I worked a lot on ensemble building and giving space for each child to share their ideas. For some, that meant ‘speaking’ their ideas; others needed to move or dance to express their ideas, and some were clearly drawn to drawing or designing as a way to express.”

Kristen calls this first group of regular program attendees “instrumental” to YPT’s early development, with independence encouraged and respect given to her young actors as key parts of the group’s foundation.

“I learned quickly that many kids were bored by a traditional class and were looking for a place where they could move around, play, and have a voice,” Kristen says. “I took that very seriously; I wanted the kids to feel a sense of ownership and empowerment. I wanted YPT to be ‘their theater,’ and I think that the success of the program lies there.

“They formed a little troupe of performance artists and together they created a number of beautifully imaginative pieces of theater,” she says. “I look back at that time so fondly.”

Now in its seventh year, Kristen says YPT still operates around many of its original principles. The program is powered by the imaginations of its actors; theater and drama lessons taught at YPT can be applied to other areas of life; affordability and accessibility to a range of students is of huge importance; and, Kristen beams, several talented and passionate teachers have continued to offer their gifts season after season.

“I started YPT as the sole teaching artist,” Kristen says. “The small, tight-knit group of teaching artists working with us today have helped to continue to build the program and this development is ongoing. We also have a Director of Education, Clare Hammoor, and a Director of Programming, Sarah Fabbricatore-Alwa. To be able to collaborate and grow with a team this talented, generous, and kind who all share this vision and are committed to building the organization has been a huge stepping stone for me personally and for YPT.”

And Kristen’s colleagues aren’t the only members of the Park and South Slope areas who have played an enormous part in YPT’s success.

“We do not exist without our community,” she says. “Being a small business owner, I know that community is everything. YPT has grown and developed thanks to the enormous support of parents and children, principals and teachers, and neighborhood organizations. Parents have shared my program with other parents. We ask our community for feedback on programs, and many families have offered insightful advice and valuable resources that have enabled us to grow. Both my business and my husband’s business are made to serve the community and run thanks to the community supporting us, and we are so grateful for that engagement and exchange. We support local schools and community organizations with gift certificates, scholarships, and donations whenever and wherever we can.”

This Brooklyn Kristen speaks of, she acknowledges, is changing. But she says it’s something simply to deal with; it has, in fact, been embraced as a basis for YPT’s ethos.

“It’s a different Brooklyn than it was when I was growing up,” Kristen says. “The children that I work with today have so much going on. They often have less time to play in school. They have more testing. They often have several extracurricular activities. Their lives are more structured. I know this from my own children as well; they barely ever play out on the street with our neighbors. But they also have a lot of amazing opportunities growing up in this era and borough. It is why I choose to live here and raise my girls here.

“At YPT, we try to slow things down. We are very conscious of giving the kids time to move around get into their bodies. Our work with all age groups is rooted in play. They need it. We all need it, really. To be able to see the kids get bigger, change, go through challenges, face them and come out stronger is really what makes this work so great.

“We have also had a lot of our ‘shy’ students find ways to connect to their voices and build their confidence. Some children come to the program and don’t speak or are unable to stand on the stage. When those children utter their first words on stage, or share an idea within the group, or hop across the stage as a rabbit, it is a surprise that is so worth the wait!”

Inspired by the chutzpah of YPT’s charges, former program Director of Education Marielle Duke wrote Speaking Up! The piece centers around Ella, a shy young girl who learns how to emerge from her shell. The performance has been performed in elementary schools across the city, and is followed by classroom workshops with “Speaking Up!” actors and YPT’s teaching artists. YPT has also developed a Tween Space series for slightly older kids (like Kristen’s 11-year-old daughter), who might be seeking a parent-free outlet without formal instruction. The series has included improv nights, movie screenings, karaoke events, self defense classes, and more — and each event features a teaching artist specializing in a particular field.

“The idea,” Kristen says, “is that parents and tweens can each have a night out to themselves!”

Regardless of age or neighborhood, personality type or intention to continue in the arts, Kristen’s aim is simple — to improve young lives through expression, just as hers was improved starting on Utica years ago.

“I had a few amazingly graceful and generous teachers who guided me and encouraged me to follow the path I had chosen for myself and grow within it,” she says. “I know how powerful it can be for a child to have a space where they can express themselves, imagine, and create in a safe environment. I had that as a child and young adult, and the experience has informed what I try to do everyday at Young Players Theater. Being able to share that feels good.

“I want children to feel the limitless potential when they are in the moment and let go of fear. I want to encourage curiosity and questioning. I want them to experience that with hard work, commitment, and trust, we can build and bring our own stories to life. Kids can effect change and inspire audiences.”

And as for her future in a rapidly-changing borough?

“Many more stories will unfold for us in Brooklyn for years to come,” she says. “I’m sure.”

Want to learn more about what’s next for the Young Players Theater? Check out their Play in a Day holiday classes and other Spring 2015 courses, their forthcoming production of Annie Jr., their summer courses for rising pre-K students to kindergarteners, rising first graders to third graders, and rising fourth graders to eighth graders. You can also keep up with them via Facebook.