Unhoused teens become playwrights through Straz partnership
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Erin Lekovic at Metropolitan Ministries' teen showcase rehearsals. Photo: Courtesy of the Straz Center
Nine teens stand in a circle. Erin Lekovic, a playwright and community engagement instructor at the Straz Center, is in the middle, leading a round of "Fortunately, Unfortunately."
- "Unfortunately, I lost my car," one teen begins. "Fortunately, I had wings," another offers. "Unfortunately, I flew too close to the Sun," a third chimes in.
- Laughter spreads. The warmup ends. The teens sink into gray couches and open their scripts for today's rehearsal: a comedy they wrote about a gold-digging leprechaun.
Why it matters: The youngest in the room is 13; the oldest, 18. All of them are experiencing homelessness and live at Metropolitan Ministries with their parents.
- But through a partnership between Metropolitan Ministries and the Straz, for 90 minutes each week, they're not case numbers — they're actors and playwrights.
What they're saying: Justine Burke, vice president of marketing for Metropolitan Ministries, noted that many kids the nonprofit serves have never experienced Broadway-style theater.
- "It brings them a lot of laughter, a lot of joy. It relieves their stress and exposes them to things that they might otherwise not be able to do."
Zoom in: Lekovic grew up in Tampa and is a product of the Straz's community engagement program. Her mom dropped her off in the summers while she worked.
- That's where she first learned that not all plays were written by "dead white guys." They could be made in a room with kids like her. And that stuck with her.
- She studied musical theater, started a theater company in New York, worked on stages in Chicago and wrote screenplays in Los Angeles. But her roots were in Tampa, and she returned in 2022.
State of play: The teens have written two plays since January. One is a dark reimagining of "Little Red Riding Hood." The other started as a joke on St. Patrick's Day.
- Some of the teens miss classes, but they always come back. Over time, the talkative ones quiet down; the quiet ones speak up. Lekovic has watched them grow into an ensemble.
- She hopes a few keep writing. Maybe a few keep acting. But mostly, Lekovic hopes they remember what it felt like to build something together.
What's next: Tonight, the teens have a stage reading. Not all of them will be there — some have jobs, some have SAT prep. Life.
- But the words made it to the page."They did the really hard part," Lekovic says. "They wrote the plays. Now it's just celebrating what they did."