Valley Youth Theatre streamed their rendition of “They Chose Me,” on Friday evening, a play told from the perspective of kids and teenagers about adoption.
The play tackles several topics that are common for people who are adopted such as foster homes, parental loss, gay adoption, and multi-cultural families, according to the Valley Youth Theatre website. The cast even has some members who are adoptees themselves, which is an important step of inclusion for leadership at the theater.
The theater streamed its 2019 performance of “They Chose Me,” because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The theater’s last live performance was in February 2020 before the pandemic shut down the country. All members of the theater officially stopped gathering on March 12, 2020, said Bobb Cooper, the producing artistic director at Valley Youth Theatre.
Cooper directed “They Chose Me,” back in 2019 and said its a story close to his heart because he, himself, was adopted.
“(The play) is about adoption and foster care through the eyes and voices of children and I lived in that environment,” Cooper said. “I lived in a couple of foster homes when I was younger and I was adopted at a young age.”
Cooper was adopted when he was 3 years old, but he didn’t know until he was 9. He said that he was adopted by his father’s wife without his biological mother knowing, and that the hardest part of the process was that he was kept from his biological mother.
Adoption and foster care issues are children’s issues, Cooper said, and he felt that “these were stories that needed to be told.”
“There are too many children in this world right now who are in homes that don’t have a loving family, and it should be the utmost of importance to get those children in with a loving family, no matter what type of person they are,” Cooper said.
Some of the actors in the play were able to portray their part with more passion and accuracy surrounding the adoption experience since many of the cast members are adoptees themselves.
Cooper said he feels like there aren’t enough stories about adopted people in the media, and it serves as the catalyst behind him directing “They Chose Me.” He said having some actors who were actually adopted in the play helped fill the gap of underrepresented groups in the theater world.
Shaylee Flanagan, 16, plays the character Eve Eden and heard about the play through an advertisement. She said she wanted to try out because she was adopted.
Flanagan was adopted at birth with her mother present to cut her cord, a pivotal moment for Flanagan. She said that many people think of adoption negatively or as taboo, but it’s actually the opposite for her.
“I’ve heard people say that people who are adopted weren’t wanted, but I know I was so, so wanted by my mom, and she has always told me that she felt like she won the lottery when she found out she was chosen to adopt me,” she said.
Flanagan’s character is a teenager who was adopted through an open adoption and has a brother named Adam- just like Flanagan’s own experience who also had an open adoption and a brother named Adam. Going into the audition, Flanagan said she was not aware of these similarities to her own life.
“I think my favorite part about her is the fact that her brother’s name is Adam, and it’s the whole Adam and Eve scenario and my own brother is named Adam, and he’s also adopted just like the character…she’s very outgoing and energetic and she’s very fun,” Flanagan said.
In “They Chose Me,” Flanagan’s character has one of the first musical numbers of the show. Eden sings about how she’s not sure if she’s a “perfect match” for her family, however, with encouragement from the other kids, Eden is able to realize that the differences in her family make them better.
For Flanagan, performing in front of her family was an act of love, a show of appreciation, to give thanks to the family who has fully embraced her.
“My family loved seeing the show because my siblings are adopted as well…the show spoke to each of us in a different way,” she said. “My mom loved it because my song was about being adopted into a family that looked different from my character and that is the same with my family.”
Flanagan said that adoption was the best thing for her family and that they rarely think about their adoption because the family feels and acts like any other family would.
“But when we do think about it, it is with happiness and gratitude,” Flanagan said.
“They Chose Me” addresses themes of inclusion, love and self-acceptance, which Cooper wanted to emphasize during production. When audiences go home, they will have learned that at the end of the day every kid is a match made unique for their family.
“As long as there’s loving people that want to adopt and take care of a child or be a foster parent that’s important,” Cooper said. “It shouldn’t matter what race, religion, or sexuality.”
Valley Youth Theatre will be showing “They Chose Me” for the final time on Sunday, April 11 at 12:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased on vyt.com.
Contact the reporter at ajdelac1@asu.edu
