Valley Youth Theatre returned to the stage on Friday for the first time in two years debuting “Dear 2020!”, a show written and performed by Phoenix youth that captures the feelings and emotions of kids in the community during the beginning of the COVID-19 era.
The young performers recall the rollercoaster of emotions they experienced at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the fears and confusion of loss and uncertainty, to the joys and laughs of family bonding and needing toilet paper.
“I thought it was a perfect opportunity to give children a voice. They’ve gone through a lot and we don’t hear what they’re going through, we make assumptions,” VYT producing artistic director Bobb Cooper said. “People make assumptions all the time, and they’re not necessarily true.”
The show came to life when the onset of the pandemic prompted VYT to meet virtually.
“That’s when proms were being canceled and everything was very uncertain in school. They weren’t going to school and graduations were looming to be canceled and it was really a dark place,” Cooper said. “So we would try to get them to not go down a dark hole of despair. It’s hard to look at the silver linings, but we’d ask ‘what’s happening in your life now that is positive.’”
These meetings offered children a time to reflect on their experiences. Eventually, VYT education and outreach director, Madolyn Whitmer helped turn their stories into monologues.
“The monologues were really profound. You know, we read the stuff they were talking about, the things that they were experiencing. And I knew that this project was destined for something else,” Cooper said.
Whitmer, with help from student director Kylan Chait, took the monologues and created “Dear 2020!”.
“It was a way to vent because all of us had to go through the pandemic. But it was just a great way to get our thoughts out on paper and out to an audience,” Chait said.
The cast and crew of VYT not only strived to give the children a voice, but audience members were prompted to reflect on their pandemic experience as well.
“Parents and teachers and people on TV have really told kids what they’re supposed to think about what’s going on. And yet no one has heard from kids what they’re supposed to think. And kids haven’t heard it from other kids. No one’s talking about it,” said VYT development and communications director Leigh Ann Dolan. “As a parent coming to the show, it really has me taking a pause in my own life and seeing what my kids were trying to tell me during this.”
“Dear 2020!” plays from February 15 to March 13.
In order to attend the performance, audience members must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, or a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the show. Mandatory temperature checks are required upon arrival, and masks must be worn inside the theater, according to the group’s website.
To learn more about VYT or purchase tickets for the show, visit its website here.
Contact the reporter at csheerin@asu.edu.
