Kids, Music and a Global Pandemic

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Image via Skylight Music Theatre

It’s difficult to estimate the effect of the current global pandemic on the kids who are living through it. One of the easiest ways to figure out what they’re going through is to simply ask them. Skylight Music Theatre has done precisely this for its latest KidsWrites program. The program that pairs kids’ writing with creative professionals continues into 2021. This time around, kids were asked to write about their COVID-related experiences for a production that would be put together with talented singers, musicians and videographers. The early previews of the program have been fascinating.

The decision to point the kids’ focus directly into the path of one of the most universally powerful forces to come about in their short lives is kind of a brave one, but it is difficult to imagine focusing on anything else in a pandemic. “What I didn’t expect was that so much of the work would be so full of hope and joy, especially some of those with the most difficult content addressed,” says Education Manager Amanda Marquardt. “The resilience displayed in so much of the writing was heart-warming and inspiring.”

The songs included on the program range from the aggressive, soulful opera of “Time Capsule,” to the moody shoe-gazing reflection of “Broken Record,” to the strangely earnest comedy of “An Ode to Toilet Paper.” It’s a very diverse program. “Skylight Music Theatre's mission is to represent the wide spectrum of music theatre works, and KidsWrites is no exception,” says Marquardt. “I did nudge some composers this way or that on some pieces, but the composers are generally given the space to vibe with the student writing and create from there.“

KidsWrites 2021: Time Capsule will be available online for students, families and the public on Skylight’s website at skylightmusictheatre.org/timecapsule from May 3 - Jun. 13.