LOS ANGELES: In Other People’s Shoes Productions and Camp Bob Waldorf have announced a partnership to provide young people with an opportunity to participate in new-works development sessions with professional actors and playwrights. Campers from underserved communities in Los Angeles will provide feedback on plays in development geared to young audiences.

The pilot program will introduce campers to Pia’s Wondrous Adventures in Tlaxlandia by José Cruz González. The play was the recipient of the inaugural ReImagine: New Plays in TYA grant program. The program will give campers a taste of what it takes to create a play and will allow the creative team to learn which parts of the play resonate with their target audience.

“I’m excited to get feedback from the campers,” González said in a statement. “Children are the most honest audiences and make great dramaturgs. I’m also happy to continue working with In Other People’s Shoes and to support the mission to tell stories of our many culturally rich and diverse communities.”

“Camp Bob Waldorf creates positives experiences kids will look back on for the rest of their lives,” Camp director Simon Hansen said in a statement. “The opportunity for our campers to participate in a program like this, with such a talented and creative group of people, is incredible.”

“We want children who don’t often see themselves represented onstage to see and celebrate their own cultures and to learn about their differences,” In Other People’s Shoes founder Mireya Hepner said in a statement. “We’re so excited to be partnering with the wonderful team at Camp Bob Waldorf, who bring young people together from all parts of the city, and to share José’s beautiful piece, which speaks to what so many young people have been experiencing over the past two years.”

Camp Bob Waldorf is an overnight camp in the Verdugo Mountains of Glendale, owned and operated by Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles. The camp has served over 60,000 underserved children between the ages of nine and 17 since 1938 through its youth development programs.

In Other People’s Shoes Productions is a nonprofit theatre company that tells imaginative, impactful, and artistic stories for young people and families of all walks of life. The company is committed to diversity and inclusion, paying artists and staff a living wage, and democratic nonprofit governance that prioritizes artists’ voices.