“ Through the Emotional Looking Glass: Eyes on the Corners of the City”
“They didn’t see my grief — didn’t think I understood.”
The Wendt Center is excited to announce our participation in Arena Stage’s 2025 Voice of Now Festival. Please join us for this profound performance and witness these young people redefine and express their grief.
This program provides an opportunity for grieving teens, grades 9-12, to find their voice, process their grief, and express themselves on stage. Teaching artists and grief therapists support ensemble members onsite during all rehearsals.
Over four months, teens will participate in weekly sessions to develop a script about their feelings, thoughts, memories, and experiences of death-related losses. The program will culminate in a performance at Arena Stage in Washington, DC.
About Voices of Now:
Voices of Now (VON) is Arena Stage’s acclaimed devised theater program that amplifies the voices of middle and high school artists. In collaboration with professional teaching artists, these young performers create original autobiographical plays that explore the issues shaping their lives today. The result? Urgent, moving, and joyful performances that invite audiences to see the world through a new lens.
2025 Festival Date:
- May 10, 2025, 12:00pm-8:00pm
- Teen Grief Ensemble: 6:30pm
- Arena Stage, Washington DC
- Price: FREE (Registration required)
“I wish it didn’t happen- but his death shaped my life. He made me….me.”
2025 Performers:
Headshot:
Name, Age, and School:
Performing in honor of:
Thoughts about grief:
How has the Teen Grief Ensemble affected you?
Jacob, 15
Friendship Online
Brother, Elijah
“The experience differs as you get older.”
“It has helped me meet new people and get to know some of the same people year after year.”
Maddisin, 17
Jackson-Reed HS
Brothers, Blu and Antonio
“It does not have a look.”
“It has opened me up more.”
Serinity, 15
Wilkerson
Uncle T-Low; Aunt Audrey; Grandfather, Jeremiah Harrison
“Grief is terrifying and sad but talking about it didn’t kill me.”
“It has taught me to talk about grief without being overwhelmed by it.”
Sierra, 17
Langley HS
Mom, Krista
“It is non-linear. Its long. It’s painful.”
“It has pushed me in ways that I didn’t necessarily think to explore my grief.”
Tivon, 17
Ballou SHS
Grandma, Emily
“Grief is never stable and forever evolving. Somedays you might be sappy (sad and happy) and that’s OK.”
“It has allowed me to remember more about my grandma- I wasn’t aware I had forgotten so much.”
Zahin Renee, 15
Duke Ellington HS
Grandma,
Wanda Renee
“Grief can change you. It can make you better and worse.”
“It has helped me speak more about my grandma without crying.”