Youth Performance Company

By MARY ELLEN KALUZA

I first learned about the Youth Performance Company (YPC) after interviewing Sha’Vontie Rose Juneau Hosfield as the June 2022 alley’s spotlighted youth artist. This December I went to see Sha’Vontie in YPC’s The Velveteen Rabbit with my (adult) daughter. We both left the performance uplifted and happy. 

This was not the The Velveteen Rabbit old timers will remember from their youth. YPC’s version is clever, humorous, and much more entertaining. YPC’s new Artistic Director Maya Washington (an alum of YPC herself) wrote, directed and choreographed this modern adaptation. The cast was beautifully diverse in age, race, and gender. Sha’Vontie played the title role of the Velveteen Rabbit. She and all of the cast were terrific! The music by Kymani Kahlil, local composer and musician, was fabulous; and the choreography perfect. 

I think what impressed me the most though, was the Q & A after the performance. All the actors were poised, articulate, funny, and affectionate. It hit me how really valuable youth theater is – it doesn’t just teach acting skills, but builds those admirable qualities that will serve young people and the world throughout their lives, whatever roads they follow. The cast definitely showcased the company’s mission: Youth Performance Company empowers youth and inspires social change through BOLD theatre and media arts.… Read the rest “Youth Performance Company”