“Lend Me Your Ears” pairs student playwrights with professional actors, writers, and artists.  Under the guidance of theater professionals, young people involved in the Juvenile Justice System are encouraged to use theater and poetry to explore issues relevant to their own lives, such as a personal identity and individual responsibility in the larger community.  These themes and literary forms are investigated and examined in conjunction with readings from plays by William Shakespeare.  Since 2016, students have created performance pieces and monologues inspired by Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet.  This year, we added two more artists to our roster of collaborators acclaimed folk artist Panhandle Slim, and Obie-award winning theater company Strangemen Theatre Company