YOUTH PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL
YOUTH PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL 2027
The Youth Performance Festival is a collaborative program of Play Incubation Collective and the Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley, in partnership with Holyoke Media. Now in its 8th year, YPF is a FREE opportunity for youth artists ages 8-18 to create original performance pieces with the guidance of mentor artists in the fields of music, dance, theater, poetry/spoken word, video/animation, and more. YPF centers the creative agency of young artists, and is committed to supporting them as they discover their own creative processes. For YPF 2027, we are again partnering with Holyoke Media to offer a Hampden county-based youth cohort in addition to the Hampshire county cohort as part of our ongoing commitment to expanding YPF in Western Mass. YPF is an outstanding festival experience that warms hearts and inspires creativity in audience members of all ages!
In order to participate in YPF, all you need to do is fill out a REGISTRATION FORM and come to the 1st session on Sat Dec 5th. Registration will be open between Nov 9th-Dec 5th.
YPF 2027 Schedule:
Sat. Dec 5: HOLYOKE Info Session for New Families 11:00-11:30, Session 1, 11:30-1
NOHO Session 1, 2:30-4:30, Info Session for New Families 4:30-5
Sat Dec 12: HOLYOKE Session 2, 11-1
NOHO Session 2, 2:30-4:30
Sat Dec 19: HOLYOKE Session 3, 11-1
NOHO Session 3, 2:30-4:30
Sat Jan 9: HOLYOKE Session 4, 11-1
NOHO Session 4, 2:30-4:30
Sat Jan 16: 10-12:45 HOLYOKE Session 5, 10-12:45
NOHO Session 5 1:30-4:30
Sat Jan 23: HOLYOKE Session 6, 10-12:45
NOHO Session 6, 1:30-4:30
Sat Jan 30: 10-12:45 Session 7 and Tech, 10-12:45
NOHO Session 7 and Tech, 1:30-4:30
Thurs Feb 4: 4-7pm Dress Rehearsal Cast A, Northampton Center for the Arts
Fri Feb 5: 4-7pm Dress Rehearsal Cast B, Northampton Center for the Arts
Sat Feb 6: Performances at the Northampton Center for the Arts 1pm Cast A, 4pm CAST B
Sun Feb 7: Performances at the Northampton Center for the Arts 1pm Cast B, 4pm CAST A
Questions? Email sarah@playincubation.org.
2026 Sponsors - THANK YOU!
The Youth Performance Festival is a FREE program for youth artists, and mentor artists are compensated fairly for their work. We could not do this without the support of our community, and donations are gratefully accepted throughout the year.
Are you interested in sponsoring YPF as a business or an individual? We need your support! Please contact Kelly Silliman at kelly@nohoarts.org for more information. (All other inquiries, please email Sarah Marcus at sarah@playincubation.org.)
Payment can be made by mailing a check made out to NCFA to PO Box 366, Northampton, MA 01061 or by Paypal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Pay Later or Credit Card by clicking the links below.
Media:
The Fabulous 413: A Challenger, a Collaboration, 10/24/23 (start at 22:22)
Daily Hampshire Gazette: Finding That Creative Spark by Steve Pfarrer, 2/12/21
Interview on Talk the Talk with Bill and Buz on WHMP 2/9/23:
https://whmp.com/podcasts/live-in-the-studio/
Interviews with Monte Belmonte on WRSI - 93.9 The River:
https://wrsi.com/monte/sonic-youth-back-in-northampton/
https://wrsi.com/monte/gen-zoom-makes-art-the-youth-performance-festival/
https://wrsi.com/monte/find-a-mentor-for-your-budding-artist-youth-performance-fest/
https://wrsi.com/monte/maybe-a-mentor-makes-sense-for-your-kid/
Photos from the Inaugural Youth Performance Festival (February 2020, in person)
Performance photos by Liz Walber of Northampton Open Media
Rehearsal photos above by Kelly Silliman