Think teens are only about texting and television? If the subjects of the six plays to be staged this weekend at the Houston Young Playwrights Exchange (HYPE) are any indication, Houston's teens, at least, have far weightier issues on the brain. Throughout the summer, the pros at the Alley Theatre have helped the writers, all 18 years old and under, develop their plays for presentation in staged readings this weekend. In Jennifer Moreno's play Angel, a young woman copes with the news that her mother has terminal cancer. In both Brian Smith's Nothing's Simple and Jose Pena's Do the Ends Justify the Means?, young men misguidedly turn to crime to solve their problems. The three others aren't child's play, either but a testament to the potential of this creative group, and their work, to age well. 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 615 Texas. For information, call 713-220-5700 or visit www.alleytheatre.org. $5.
July 31-Aug. 1, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 2, 2:30 p.m., 2009