Previews: PSYPF ANNOUNCES MENTOR GREG COLE WHITE at Palm Springs Young Playwright Festival
by Kay Kudukis - February 03, 2026
The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival (PSYPF), which promotes and encourages theatrical creative writing for elementary, middle, and high school students throughout Riverside County, proudly announces that Greg Cope White, co-executive producer and writer of Netflix’s BOOTS, will serve as Mentor for the Festival’s 9th Season.
Student Blog: The Importance of Pausing During Winter Break
by Student Blogger: Grace Ward - January 12, 2026
This blog reflects on the often-overlooked rest period between semesters as a meaningful pause between the chaos of finals and the demands of a new semester. I explore how winter break has allowed me to reconnect with family and longtime friends, confront post-graduation anxieties alongside fellow seniors and rediscover the value of slow, offline moments. Ultimately, highlighting how rest and reflection during this quiet month have helped me prepare both mentally and emotionally for one of my busiest semesters yet.
Student Blog: Poo-Wah-Bahs - Francis Ford Coppola’s Lasting Impact on Hofstra’s Drama Department
by Student Blogger: Grace Ward - December 23, 2025
This blog explores Francis Ford Coppola’s profound legacy at Hofstra University, tracing how a theatre student-turned-legendary filmmaker helped shape the department’s culture and traditions. It highlights Coppola’s impact on student-led productions and his creation of Poo-Wah-Bahs, a ritual that asks you to slow down and recognize the work of each individual player. Nearly 70 years later, this tradition continues to unite generations of Hofstra theatre students. Through personal reflection, the piece examines how legacy, community and creativity converge in one of the department’s most cherished rites.
Previews: PLAY FESTIVAL at The Beach Theatre
by Deborah Bostock-Kelley - September 17, 2025
Experience a whirlwind of comedy, thought-provoking sci-fi, and musical madness at this year’s Play Festival! From backstage high school antics and futuristic dilemmas to the outrageous heart of Florida, this eclectic showcase brings together local talent and unforgettable stories.
Review: REEFER MADNESS at New Stage Theatreworks
by Emma Wasserman - February 07, 2025
Wonder what would happen if some 1930’s high schoolers smoked weed for the first time? According to New Stage Theatreworks’s production of Reefer Madness, apparently, they would ruin their whole lives. Though this might sound dark, actual propaganda films of the time portrayed this message seriously. Reefer Madness, however, is a musical satire of the 1936 propaganda film of the same name. Set in 1936, the story is set up as a play within a play, with the Lecturer (John Lipian) telling a story that the school’s drama department would then put on.
DIE DREIGROSCHENOPER is Now Playing at Theatre Basel
by Stephi Wild - January 21, 2025
Die Dreigroschenoper by Bertolt Brecht, with music by Kurt Weill, is now playing at Theatre Basel. Jörg Pohl, actor and co-director of the drama department at Theater Basel, was recently awarded the Gertrude Eysoldt Ring.