St. Louis’ Metro Theater Company is taking the power of the theater to a whole new level by highlighting experiences of ordinary people surrounding the coronavirus.
In an effort to give a voice to youth and families whose lives have been changed by COVID-19, the project is collecting stories and experiences from people of all backgrounds as they navigate the changes to their daily lives resulting from stay-at-home orders, social distancing and school and work closures.
Metro Theater will utilize these stories as inspiration to develop live storytelling initiatives and other theatrical projects. Initial content will be shared online in waves during the spring of 2020, with a goal for public performances of material during MTC’s 2020-2021 season.
“Shared storytelling is central to the power of theater,” said Joe Gfaller, managing director at Metro Theater Company. “Metro Theater Company’s role as a community connector and a source of inspiration for young people across our region has not changed as a result of this crisis. The crisis instead has made us more attuned to the way in which our unique strengths can make a difference. Even during times when we must be physically distant from one another, sharing these stories may help us all to feel more connected. They remind us that we are facing this common challenge together and of the value of the sacrifices we are making to protect the most vulnerable among us from the worst of COVID-19.”
“Since the company’s beginnings, MTC has provided a safe place for young people to process the issues they are facing. Whether through seeing MTC’s landmark production of ‘The Yellow Boat’ in the 1990s, about a young boy dying of AIDS, or through sharing their stories of life in quarantine today, our audiences have come to trust the respect MTC shows for the emotional wisdom of young people,” added Julia Flood, artistic director. “While the final shape of the COVID-19 Memory Project will evolve as the circumstances around us change, this initiative is deeply rooted in the strength of our artistic history. Our mission has always been to serve youth and families through the power of theater, and what is happening now is theater in the making. Every story, no matter how extraordinary or seemingly mundane, may help another child or family heal.”
The COVID-19 Memory Project is one of several ways Metro Theater Company is engaging the public during the pandemic. Metro Theater Company’s education team publishes daily arts-integrated curricular videos on social media, and the theater’s list of online learning resources continues to expand.
Metro Theater Company has also partnered with the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, Cry Havoc Theater Company in Dallas, and Off The Page in Brooklyn, New York, to present Art Apart, Together, a nationwide project that invites the public to create various forms of art – writing, drawing, painting, music and choreography – within a 10-minute period, in response to the project’s prompt. All of the different submissions will be woven together in a script that will be brought to life by artists from across the country. Art Apart, Together aims to keep alive the public’s creative energy and sense of being connected, despite being apart during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit metroplays.org/art-apart-together.
Since 1973, Metro Theater Company has been creating productions that respect young people’s intelligence, tell compelling stories, stimulate curiosity and provoke thoughtful reflection. Metro Theater has received major honors and awards, both locally and nationally. The company is led by Flood and Gfaller. For more information, visit metroplays.org.
Memory Project stories, experiences, perspectives, emotions and hopes can be submitted online at metroplays.org/memoryproject.
