The purpose of The 52nd Street Project is to give every child the experience of success through writing and performing his or her own plays. Economically disadvantaged children from the "Hell's Kitchen" neighborhood of New York City are paired with professional theater artists to create, mount and perform original theater pieces. The individual child is the focus of this Project's work. Workshops take place in local community centers and theaters, as well as during out-of-town retreats. They include One on Ones, in which youth are paired with adults to create a work especially for them that is performed by the child with that adult. In Two on Twos, a professional playwright creates a play performed by two 52nd Street Project participants. Playmaking is a series of playwriting classes for young people developed by Daniel Judah Sklar from his book Playmaking: Children Writing and Performing Their Own Plays. These classes were adapted to include a performance component. An ongoing acting company of children is under development. In addition, based on their experience, The 52nd Street Project has written a practical guide to teaching theater arts to children.