Back in 2013, I tried to grok the state of the theatre for young audienes (TYA) field in an op-ed for HowlRound. I wrote about what I called tectonic shifts in American and international organizations, leadership transitions, connectons, and emergence. Today, that article reads like a period piece from a quaint, earlier era. Or from another planet.
A few of the events and trends since then, in both our cultural and political lives, include the 2016 US election; Brexit; #MeToo; #BlackLivesMatter; mass shootings in Las Vegas, at the Pulse nightclub, in Parkland, and elsewhere; unprecedented numbers of women and persons of color elected to Congress in 2018; new levels of migration from poverty, war, and violence; the rise of right-wing nationalism; the 24/7 news cycle; and lives being lived on social media. If the world now is such a jagged and incomprehensible place that we adults are struggling to navigate, imagine how it is for our children and young people.
In the wake of all this, there is bad news and good news for the TYA field.
The not-so-good news is that, per both chatter from practitioners and an article in TYA Today Online, there is a great sameness to many of the seasons of our TYA theatres. Of the eleven most-produced TYA pieces in 2018–19, with three to six separate productions each, eight are musicals and all are adaptations. This most likely stems from multiple factors, which include economic fears, political hot-button issues, pushback from boards, and/or resistance from the dreaded gatekeepers—institutional and parental.
The positive news, though, is that many of us, not only in TYA but also in the wider theatre world, are more strongly than ever focused on listening and talking to young people—truly hearing their voices—and reflecting their stories on our stages. An important takeaway from listening to young people is that they tend to not self-censor the way so many older artists do. This helps theatres focused on TYA to continue to stretch the boundaries in both form and content, including telling more daring stories that cross into areas long considered taboo. What is classified as taboo or difficult is, of course, different for individual communities, cities, and countries, but often involve stories with violence, gender identity, racism, and physical or sexual abuse.
Below are some examples of bright spots we’ve seen in the last little while in the TYA field, which we can expect to continue, especially related to original plays. I have long believed that the major reason for the growth and far-reaching improvement in the field is due to our support of playwrights.
Latinx Voices
The most-produced TYA artist of the 2018–19 season is Latinx composer Deborah Wicks La Puma, with at least thirteen productions. Karen Zacarias, the most-produced Latinx playwright in the country, also writes TYA musicals with La Puma. Additionally, Karen was a prime mover of the gathering in Washington, DC that eventually led to the formation of the Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC).
The 2019 Latinx Theatre Commons Theatre for Young Audiences Sin Fronteras Festival & Convening, the first LTC convening focused on TYA, could not have happened at a more auspicious time, what with a growing Latinx population and presence in the United States, as well as because of what’s happening to young people at our southern border. The festival, which took place in January of this year at the University of Texas at Austin and the Mexican American Cultural Center, featured 150+ artists and practitioners, presented productions from Mexico, Chile, and the United States, and included programming focused on Indigenous voices and Latinx youth.
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