School Play in a Box (SPIB) returns for its third year! PYT's outreach program brings drama classes directly to local schools and one of the most exciting goals of SPIB is to make our classes accessible to students who for various reasons cannot attend a class at PYT. Through a grant from the Irene Scully Foundation, we are able to offer scholarships to low income students and provide SPIB sessions at schools that could not otherwise afford theatre classes.

Last spring, PYT began working with 1st -5th graders at Costano Elementary in East Palo Alto. Led by Outreach Director Meg Fischer, these classes were made up entirely of scholarship students with an interest in theatre. Over the course of the session, students worked to build confidence, develop public speaking skills, and improve self esteem through a variety of acting exercises. The 3rd - 5th graders even rehearsed a play based on several different fairy tales.

PYT also started a program with Castro Elementary in Mountain View. Kindergarten and 1st grade students worked to improve not only their performance skills, but also their English skills. Native English speakers made up only one-third of each class while the other two-thirds consisted of Spanish speakers. This English immersion class helped to fulfill a part of Castro School's greater purpose: a dual-language educational program.

This winter, PYT will continue our work at Costano and Castro to develop and improve these programs. Our hope is to reach more scholarship students and to help each student to grow in confidence and ability. Additional grant funding from the James Irvine Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Bill Graham Foundation, and IBM has helped make Play In A Box a success. For more information about School Play in a Box, please e-mail pib@pytnet.org.

The Youth Advisory Board 2008-09 season PYT "Tony and Techie" awards were held on Oct. 3 in Los Altos. PYT Artistic Director Dexter Fidler served as Master of Ceremonies for an evening which featured songs from the upcoming 2009-10 Season by many of PYT's performers.

"Les Miserables" was the big winner of the evening, receiving recognition as Best Show, and accolades for its entire Artistic staff in their various categories. Congratulations to Elise Marinkovich, Christine Nielsen and Alex Acevedo. "Stinky Cheese Man" was voted as the Stories on Stage Show of the Year.

Many thanks to JoAnn Buchanan and her team of volunteers for a successful event!

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for most of our 2009-10 Season. Our line-up for next year includes , Willy Wonka, Seussical, Narnia and Footloose. It's going to be an exciting and popular season and we invite you to be part of it!

Give PYT a "Golden Ticket" with a sponsorship at the $500 or $750 level for Willy Wonka, or any of our other 2009-2010 season shows. Sponsorships bridge the gap between the actual expenses of producing shows and the revenue raised by ticket sales and participation fees.

As a $500 "Star" sponsor, you will receive four VIP tickets, an autographed cast poster, recognition during the curtain speech and in the playbill, and an invitation to a special donor thank you/season announcement party. At the $750 level, you will receive all of the above as well as a cast T-shirt, a production mug, six VIP tickets in total and four tickets to any "Stories on Stage" 2009-2010 production.

If a sponsorship doesn't meet your needs, consider advertising in PYT's playbill for the 2009-2010 season. Your ad will reach a desirable demographic audience of Peninsula and Silicon Valley young families with attendance of up to 6,000 patrons per production. Rates are very reasonable compared to most printed media.

Please contact Emily Wu, Development Director at ewu@pytnet.org or 650-988-8798 extension 305 for further information.

- PYT Alum Jeremy Davies and Instructor Robyn Winslow currently appear in South Bay Musical Theatre's "The Producers", running at the Saratoga Civic Center through October 10th

- Congratulations to PYT Producer and Super Volunteer Kristin Venuti on the recent publication of her first novel, " Leaving the Bellweathers"!

November 14-22, 2009: PYT Presents "Annie" at the Mtn View Center for the Performing Arts. Individual tickets now available HERE

December 3-4, 2009: Foothill Theatre Conservatory Presents "Alice in Wonderland" (a special co-production with PYT). Ticket information available HERE

January 31, 2010: Save the Date! "Hollywood Hosts" at the Cypress Hotel, Cupertino