Young Playwrights Tell Tales

A second-generation gang member sits in a jail cell and examines his past. A teen actor faces comic trials and tribulations as he tries out for the part of his life. A science fiction adventure mirrors the struggle of L.A.’s multiethnic community to get along.

“Everything Goes,” the umbrella title for three new plays written and performed by local, urban-area youth, will be presented at Immanuel Presbyterian Church on April 29 and 30 at 7:30 p.m. and at USC’s Bing Theatre on May 23 at 7 p.m.

“Mi Vida Loca” (“My Crazy Life”) by Jonathan Orozco, 19; “Just Another Day in Show Biz” by Jose Rodriguez, 16; and “Taqwa” by Mercedes Mijares, 17, were developed in playmaking classes, part of many arts, education and sports activities offered by the Heart of Los Angeles Youth (HOLA) program serving hundreds of L.A.’s at-risk, mid-city youths.

HOLA Youth Theatre came into being after the 1992 riots, led by artistic director Garrett M. Brown (“Sisters”). It brings children and teens together with volunteer mentors who teach acting and playwrighting. Orozco, in a wheelchair after becoming the victim of a drive-by shooting, Rodriguez, who hopes to become an aircraft mechanic, and Mijares, who “writes to change people’s minds,” were invited to create their 20-minute plays after their involvement in several playmaking groups.

Performances at HOLA’s Immanuel Presbyterian Church space are free (donations accepted); reservations, (213) 389-1148. Tickets for the USC benefit performance/ reception are $75; reservations, (213) 740-1286.

New Series: Peep at puppets, catch a clown or mime a rhyme: “Kids World,” a new Friday-morning performance series at Santa Monica Place in the third-level Community Room, beginning April 15 at 11 a.m., offers quality fare for family audiences. And it’s all free.

The series kicks off with storyteller Uncle Ruthie, longtime host of the weekly children’s radio show “Halfway Down the Stairs” on KPFK-FM. Twinkles the Clown, with her songs and puppets are up April 22, and the talented, funny Troyans, a clown act from Moscow, performs April 29.

In May, look for the Wonderworld Puppets in “A Whale of a Tale,” TAFFY Festival hosts and performers J. P. Nightingale with songs and stories from the British Isles, comic juggler Billy Barrett, and Asian tales from the have-trunk-will-travel storytelling theater troupe We Tell Stories.

Santa Monica Place, which is handicapped accessible, is located two blocks from the beach in downtown Santa Monica between 2nd and 4th streets.

Information: (310) 394-5451.