Phillis Wheatley Association
335 Greenacre Road GreenvilleSC29607864-235-3411 864-467-1306

Program: Phillis Wheatley Repertory Theatre for Youth
Year Started: 1985
Focus: Theater
Youth Served: 50
Ages: 13-18
Budget: $94,000


"Mr. Woods, Ms. Peters. Mr. Nesbitt, and all of those guys were Mom, Dad, brother, sister, aunt, uncle as well as teacher, mentor, and friend. What they taught us about theater helped us to learn about ourselves. Theater was the medicine that took care of the illness called hopelessness." Tammica Pixley, Phillis Wheatley Repertory Theatre for Youth Alumna

Founded in 1919 as an etiquette class for young African-American women of Greenville, South Carolina, the Phillis Wheatley Association expanded over the next 75 years to include tutoring and counseling, sports, visual art, and music appreciation in after-school and summer programs. By 1985, the culminating summer camp talent show suggested an opportunity to engage young people in musical theater. As Claudette Alexander-Thomason of Clemson University's Brooks Center for the Performing Arts wrote:

Thus, the Repertory Theatre for Youth was born. It was only natural that Dwight Woods, known as the Pied Piper, would be at the helm of this venture because he has an anointed gift for nurturing the talent of others. He challenges young people to achieve - to reach beyond their potential. He does this by using theater as the vehicle for life-altering change in the lives of children who have been all but thrown away by this society.
The only Black youth, community-based theater company in South Carolina that performs statewide and nationally, the Phillis Wheatley Repertory Theatre for Youth (PWRTFY) counts since its inception more than 500 participants and another 500,000 audience members inspired by their performances across the southeast and in New York City. By requiring students to remain active from their middle school years through high school graduation, the program fosters bonds among the students. By making school attendance, an appropriate grade point average, and college preparation as integral to the program as the preparation of theatrical performances, the program dramatically increases the students' chances of personal, artistic, and academic growth.

PWRTFY musicals and dramas are developed by staff - often with assistance from students - around themes such as drug prevention, teen pregnancy, self-esteem, and participants' hopes, dreams, and goals. Two recent productions capture the spirit of Phillis Wheatley Repertory Theatre for Youth: A Night of Stars and Dreams and Don't Five Up on Your Dream.