Theater teacher and local resident Beth Young launched a ten-week Theater Program for Adults at C.H. Booth Library on January 22.

The class, according to program notes, will help students “to develop their storytelling abilities, transforming their narratives into captivating scripts.”

Participants this week began to learn the art of playwriting and participated in theater games to develop their skills. At the conclusion of the ten-week series in April, each participant’s final piece of work will be staged.

Young became interested in acting as a young girl and eventually studied with the well-known acting teacher Warren Roberts at Riverside Shakespeare Company in Manhattan. Young has also had formal readings and a production at The Brookfield Theater for the Arts as well as serving as an acting teacher and librarian for five years at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown.

She is also a former theater reviewer for The Newtown Bee.

Prior to her retirement, she was a nurse and during the pandemic she supported various nursing homes with her medical skills and taught acting to the residents. One of her recent efforts was the creation of a play about the mental challenges of Mary Todd Lincoln, who was eventually committed to an asylum.

Young has also started a similar ten-week program at Newtown Senior Center. During that series participants are learning beginning writing, acting, movement, and improvisation techniques. That series will also conclude with students offering a performance for friends and family.