If eight certain middle-schoolers from The Coeur d'Alene Reservation didn’t already have the bug for acting and writing, they just might have it now.

Being mentored by artists and drafting original plays read aloud by famous actors may have something to do with it.

"I’m kind of inspired,” Angel Tsawklai, 12, said with a shy grin. "I actually thought after they came up here that I want to be an actress."

The Mentor Artists Playwrights Project, or MAPP, shined a spotlight on these students and introduced them to the world of theater writing through the Young Native Playwrights Initiative.

Their stories came to life when the four actors plus MAPP director Thomas Kellogg read them to a live audience Thursday evening in North Idaho College's Edminster Student Union Building.

"I was happy because it was expressed the way I thought it should be done,” said Angel, who attends the Coeur d'Alene Tribal School in DeSmet.

Contributing their talent to bring the students' plays to life were: television actor Miles Gaston Villanueva, who plays Lyle Menendez in "Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders;" stage and television star Zilah Mendoza, who has had recurring roles on shows such as "The King of Queens," "MAD TV" and "Modern Family;" Nez Perce tribal member and MAPP performer Sarah Hennessey; and Valente Rodriguez, a seasoned actor who has worked in film and TV, regularly on "The George Lopez Show" as "Ernie" and appearing in shows such as "Mad About You," "The X-Files," "Golden Girls" and "ER."

"We're breaking these plays down. We're reading these plays like we would read any material. We're looking at them as we would look at any professional production we're involved in," Kellogg said. "It was such a beautiful process... this material was a joy to work with."

Each play was written metaphorically, and all of them involved the importance of friendship.

Lakeside Middle Schooler Bessy Miller, 14, wrote an untitled play about a journal named "Glossy" and a pencil named "Rose." Her play discussed the hardships of being bullied and accepting friends for who they are.

“Some of it I thought about me,” Bessy said. "Some of it was made up."

The students worked on the one-act, two-character plays with their mentors for a week in September. Mentor and acting student Seth Weddle of Coeur d'Alene shared his amazement at what the students accomplished.

"It all came from here and here,” he said, pointing to his head and his heart. "These kids have never written a play before in their lives, they’ve never been in a play, they’ve never had the opportunity to take acting classes or writing classes."

The students were asked to create three different characters with personalities and back stories. They then had to create a scenario including conflict, stage direction and dialogue.

“I learned a lot,” Bessy said. "They were really pushing me to do this, pushing me to write, trying to make me write what to say. It was stressful, I really didn't want to do it. It was hard."

But after the plays were read and the students bowed for the audience, she felt a little different about it.

"I feel awesome,” she said with a beaming smile. “Once I was up there, I felt relief. My heart was beating really fast."

MAPP is a program that Kellogg founded to empower youths in marginalized communities through programs of literacy and art. The actors who participated share a piece of that marginalized community with the students as they have had their fair share of experiences as people of different ethnicities.

"It's such an honor to be here," a heartfelt Villanueva said to the youths after the program. "You guys teach me."

Imani Antone, 22, of Cheney, participated in the program when it came to North Idaho 10 years ago. She attended the evening and shared her MAPP experience.

"It had a really strong impact on my life," said Antone, who attends Eastern Washington University. "I doubted myself about what I could really do. That was one of the first times I had a really good role model."

Lakeside Middle Schooler Khyrell Haynes, 13, said he was nervous when his play was read.

He said his experience with MAPP taught him a very important lesson: "Don't give up."

The plays read that evening were Angel's "The Secret Note," McKye Fanning's "Desert Cowboys," Khyrell's "It's Good to Think Twice," Alizea Daniels' "Journey of a Basketball's Purpose," "One of the Fights in Friendship" by Chantell Luke, Joan Barnowsky's "Rainy and Freya: Best Friends Forever," "Untitled" by Bessy and "Untitled" by Michael Faber Jr.

For information about MAPP, visit www.mentorartists.com.