VALLEY YOUTH THEATRE

VALLEY YOUTH THEATRE good deeds come back around

By Lisa Van Loo

Bobb Cooper firmly believes that good deeds come back around. As producing artistic director at Valley Youth Theatre, he recently saw it happen in one of the most fulfilling and unexpected ways.

With help from a family who saw the benefits of Valley Youth Theatre for their daughter a few years ago, the organization produced a nine-hour, virtual telethon, raising more than $225,000. Academy Award-winner and Valley Youth Theatre alum, Emma Stone, donated $32,000 for the 32 years the theatre has been serving youth in the Phoenix area.

It was a huge, successful undertaking.

“They spent hundreds of hours putting this together,” Cooper says of the family who offered to help produce the telethon. “It all paid off.”

Cooper says Valley Youth Theatre hasn’t experienced layoffs or staff reductions due to the pandemic, but its impact has still been “devastating.” Looking ahead, the organization has budgeted for three different scenarios, blending optimism and realism, that puts their first possible opportunity to perform again in February — if the public is able to assemble, safely. “Everything is a moving target. We’ve made it so we won’t be doing anything in person until we have a vaccine or a cure,” Cooper says, noting the fiscal difficulties of a socially distanced seating arrangement in their 200seat house. “We can’t pay the royalties with 50 people.”

Until then, Cooper says they’ve postponed what would have been their 25th anniversary of A Winnie the Pooh Christmas Tail due to issues with digital rights to the show, and they continue to look into the logistics and feasibility of delivering programming virtually.

“It’s just, we’ve got to be patient,” Cooper says, noting his daughter is experiencing residual issues after surviving COVID-19. “Unless we give the science community the respect it deserves, we’re just going to keep perpetuating the problem.”

To learn more, visit vyt.com.