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022 marks the 50th anniversary year of the Appalachian Young People’s Theatre (AYPT), a dynamic component of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Appalachian State University. Founded in 1972, AYPT works in partnership with communities and public schools of northwestern North Carolina to bring high-quality, affordable, live theatre experiences to young audiences who otherwise see little or no theatre. AYPT has a two-pronged mission: 1) To produce a variety of quality plays with educational value, including fairy tales, folk tales, musicals and plays with contemporary themes for K-8 audiences, and 2) To provide practical experience in producing and performing for young audiences for students seeking degrees in Theatre and/or Education. Each spring the AYPT company consists of dedicated undergraduate theatre students who participate in tours to schools, libraries and museums to perform for approximately 7,500 young people every season. AYPT has also performed at the North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC) and the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Invitational Children’s Theatre Festival. In 1996, the Constance Welsh Award for Excellence in Theatre for Youth was presented to the AYPT by the NCTC. In 2016, AYPT received the Sara Spencer Child Drama Award from SETC. This prestigious honor recognized the work of the organization for dynamic and engaging work for young people, and is named after children’s theatre pioneer and founder of the Children’s Theatre Press (now the Anchorage Press) Sara Spencer. AYPT is currently under the leadership of only the fourth director in its history, Professor Teresa Lee, who is concluding her 34th year tenure at Appalachian this May. According to Lee, Professor Emeritus Ed Pilkington began the AYPT tradition in 1972, “when a small band of university students loaded into a 1941 Ford pickup truck and ventured into remote mountain communities with shows that were designed to teach components of the curriculum such as math, language arts, social studies and history.” Lee is particularly proud of the fact that the shows encourage self-expression and selfconfidence by allowing the children to become part of the performance through audience participation. “The experience was and continues to be invaluable training for young theatre students at Appalachian,” said Lee. “The class was designed for students to earn three credit hours for their work, including building sets, props, and costumes, then touring the production for several weeks in the semester.” Leadership of AYPT was passed along from Pilkington to Appalachian faculty members Vernon Carroll and Jonathan Ray before Lee took the directorship in the fall of 1988. “The program has seen changes over the years, but remains true to the roots of its beginnings,” said Lee. Under her leadership, the group typically performs published plays for young audiences. Very often the plays still include audience participation, which was one of the founding elements of AYPT. Simple sets, props, costumes and music are used to bring the Appalachian Young People’s Theatre productions to life. The students participating in AYPT coordinate their talents and energy, under the supervision of the faculty director, to build and rehearse the shows for the first half of each spring semester. The troupe then loads the show in a van and trailer to tour northwestern N.C. for seven weeks every March and April, plus three-days in residence on campus in Appalachian’s I.G. Greer Studio Theatre. Each production is adaptable to a variety of performance spaces including gymnasiums, auditoriums and multi-purpose rooms. Teacher/student study guides are provided with all public school performances. In recapping “the first half century” of AYPT, Lee enumerates over seventy theatrical productions, including one tour abroad to the islands and highlands of Scotland, as well as several collaborative productions with both Blue Ridge Community Theatre and the nowdefunct Blowing Rock Stage Company. Approximately 500 Appalachian State University students have been involved in these productions with a total audience that will approach the 200,000 mark this spring in tours that have played 18 different counties in North Carolina. For Lee’s final production, and in celebration of its “home,” AYPT will present Appalachian Echoes, adapted by Teresa Lee from stories by native writer, Doris Bliss. The audience will become part of the storytelling as we step back in time to a child’s life growing up in the mountains of western N.C. in the 1930s and ‘40s. This interactive performance will include live old-time music and is appropriate for all ages.
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AYPT AT 50
Appalachian Young People’s Theatre Celebrates a Half Century of Excellence By Keith Martin
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For more information, visit www.theatreanddance.appstate.edu.
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