Each One Reach One diverts incarcerated youth from a life in prison to become productive community members through mentor-based performing arts and academic tutoring programs.

The cornerstone of Each One Reach One’s artistic vision is the belief in the transforming power of the arts and our commitment to employ professional theater artists to mentor at-risk youth.Each One Reach One (EORO) conducts intensive playwriting programs, which employ theater professionals to work, one-on-one, with at-risk youth of high school age attending alternative schools or incarceration facilities. These young writers work with their mentors for 35 hours over two weeks, where they learn exercises to release their creativity, practice both verbal and written expression, and ultimately write a one-act play. The playwriting workshops end with a staged reading of the young writers’ plays. Professional actors volunteer to bring these plays to life before the young writers’ community: fellow students or detainees, officials of the facility, family members, and sometimes the general public. While this is often the most frightening part of the program for the young writers, it is also the most rewarding. These events provide youth the opportunity to succeed in a challenging endeavor and to have their accomplishments publicly recognized by their family, peers and, most importantly, by themselves. The affirmation of their success builds their confidence in their own abilities and encourages them to continue developing their new skills.

EORO provides young people with the opportunities and tools to express themselves creatively, and, just as importantly, in ways that do not bring harm to themselves or others