I HAVE A STORY Play Anthology Will Be Published by Childsplay

I Have A Story, an anthology organized by Childsplay and published by Dramatic Publishing, offers a remarkable collection of 31 stories from young people across the country reflecting their life experiences during the pandemic that were turned into short plays in collaboration with professional playwrights nationwide.

"In all the news stories about young people in the pandemic, very few stopped and talked to young people about their perspective," said Childsplay Associate Artistic Director Jenny Millinger who developed the concept, collected the stories and edited the book with her collaborator Julia Hogan Laurenson. "Our goal was to gather stories from across the country about what it was like to be a young person in the pandemic and memorialize them through theater."

The result is a 229-page collection of emotional, searing, eye-opening plays from young people in 19 states and Washington, D.C., aged seven to 18, including eight from Arizona, whose personal stories have come to life in diverse and creative fashion.

"Discovery of personal strength is a resounding theme throughout our stories," Millinger and Laurenson wrote in the anthology's introduction. "There are many reflections about the profound impact of being 'socially distanced' ... unpacking what that truly means on friendships, on learning, on human interactions at every level."

Once the concept was in place, an open call was issued through the Childsplay website, high school drama teachers across the country and national theater companies for young audiences. More than 60 submissions were received.

"To get to 31, we wanted a wide range of stories from varying perspectives from around the county from the understanding that we're all in the same storm but experiencing it in different boats," Millinger said. "We wanted to be sure we had as many of those perspectives represented as possible and we looked for stories that sparked our curiosity and that we felt could be part of a larger story."

Each young person whose submissions were chosen were interviewed before being matched with playwrights.

"From the big picture, it was so gratifying to see and to hear from young people who said they felt 'seen'," Millinger said. "Many said the experience got them through the pandemic. It was also phenomenal to see the leading playwrights in our field come forward to partner with young people in the telling of their stories. This intergenerational collaboration resulted in a rich tapestry of plays that we believe will hold the test of time on the page and on the stage."

Young people from Arizona whose stories are in the anthology include:

• Phoebe Anderson, an eighth grader from Phoenix. Her story is called "One Barrel at a Time."

• Eden Burnett, a ninth grader from Phoenix. Her story is called "Yearbook 2020."

• Samantha Chuck, a freshman at Perry High School in Chandler. Her story is called "Tap Dance."

• Aditi Ganesh, an 11-year old from Chandler. Her story is called "Whoosh!".

• Salome Stein-Kokin, an eighth grader from Phoenix. Her story is called "Climbing the COVID Wall."

• Alexis Wiley, a fourth grader from Tucson. Her story is called "Out of the Ordinary."

• Nathaniel Wiley, a seventh grader from Tucson. His story is called "First Nether."

Childsplay Artistic Director Dwayne Hartford also was involved in the book's development through his collaboration with Ella Kohring, a sixth grader from St. Louis, on her play "W.W.H.G.D?"

The anthology is available for $35 through Dramatic Publishing (www.dramaticpublishing.com).

For more information about Childsplay, visit www.childsplayaz.org.

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