Spring 2021
FILMING ROMEO & JULIET, SUMMER SHAKESPEARE 2020
from the desk of…
Hallie Flower
Executive Director, NEYT
MARKING THE MOMENT
March 12, 2020.
It feels important to mark the moment when everything stopped.
That pre-pandemic “everything” for NEYT meant making theatre with over 500 kids, a roster of more than 50 visiting artists, and audiences in the thousands. It would include a year of over 35 theater projects and only 2 quiet weeks of respite. It was 20 years of continuous, contextual learning. And then suddenly… nothing. The show did not go on.
Our building was empty. There were no audiences, no rehearsals or classes… and no young people piling up in the green room with laughter. Without all the “everything”, what is left?
In rehearsals, we look for the opportunity hidden in a challenge.
The obstacles of 2020 surely held many such gifts. Being pressed to distill down to the essentials of what we do and why we do it has been the biggest of these. We could not rely on familiar theatre making with social distancing guidelines. There would be no big piles of young people. We could not have audiences to celebrate with and learn from. We could not collaborate with all of our grownups and still have a space for our kids to be together. Each day’s challenge encouraged stripping away the familiar layers of activity and complexity to reveal our center.
That center isn’t about sparkly productions and big audiences. It isn’t even about great art – though that sure is inspiring. It’s about our kids having a way to connect through creativity surrounded by lots of support. It’s about holding open a space for them to discover their sense of belonging… a safe place to experiment with being themselves, together, in an environment that puts their experience first.
We are here to nurture connection to self and others… and through that, community.
This opportunity to focus on the essentials has proved fortunate in a time when human connection is so needed. It makes doing new and hard and scary things a little bit easier to face. And there have certainly been lots of those things. But we made it through this year of pressures and managed to create a bunch of magic along the way, together. We still get to witness the transformative moments of simple, creative revelation as a young person connects an idea for themselves – or experiences the trust that can develop through collaboration. We still get to be here holding open the door. And for that, we are ever grateful.
I want to share out loud some of the moments from this time so that we have a way to always remember the center 2020 reminded us to cherish.
the deep joy in masked faces as young friends came together for the first time in many months
the grounding, group breath as our dedicated staff made their first creative pivot amid uncertainty
the circle of chattering young people, who in previous years were more likely to stay to the edges, now leaning toward one another with communicative passion
the long, masked, standing chats on the lawn as families re-connected safely
the joyful run of a young boy running to meet up with his peers leaving a giggling mom chasing behind
the communal shift in mood as the outdoor audience recognized our kids are still connecting, still growing, still being kids
the extraordinary outpouring of support from our community enabling us to keep serving our kids
All of these moments reflect the preciousness of TOGETHER.
And together is how we will practice the lessons of this long, not-yet-landed journey.
I am glad to have this moment and find myself marking what to carry into tomorrow from the year behind us – wanting to be thoughtful about the seeds we plant together.
I am so proud of our kids, awed by their parents and school teachers, and grateful for our staff and community. As we look at the days ahead, there is hopefulness. There will be laughter on the NEYT lawns this year. There will be playing and working and helping and making and growing… and remembrance.
I leave you with a phrase Putnam, our Education Director, intoned as we nervously tread forward last spring:
“Keep it safe, keep it simple, keep it joyful”