About Face Youth Theatre is at it again this August. They are putting on their 6th anniversary production, On The Record, at the beautiful Goodman Owen Theatre. This year, I’m extra excited about being a part of this great organization, not as a performer, but as an intern. Over the past five years, AFYT wrote their own stories and performed them at The Jane Addams Hull House. This year AFYT did something different, and they did interviews all over the city and suburbs with a variety of people, and they are going to interpret those stories on the stage.
This year’s production has 13 youths performing. I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the cast members, Meagan Jenkins, who is going to be a senior at Curie High School on the South Side. Meagan plays all different types of characters in the play. ‘I play Andy’s mom in one scene, an interviewer, constriction worker, and a girl named Chris,’ said, Jenkins. She was in last year’s production, Up Until Now, and is excited about being at the Goodman Theatre again. Jenkins said with a smile, ‘Being at the Goodman is exciting. I think the audience will like the show. It’s different because instead of using just our stories, we interviewed other people from around the city. Storytelling was a lot of fun, and the interviewing was awesome.’
Eighteen-year-old Jesse, a high school graduate from Truman Middle College, an alternative school in the city, heard of About Face Youth Theatre from her friend Riko. ‘What I like about it is the opportunity to explore ideas with theater,’ said Jesse, who also has a lot of different roles in On The Record. ‘I play Delilah, I play Diana, Lisa and a grandma,’ she says with a proud smile.
Don’t miss this fabulous and unique production. On The Record from Aug. 5-15 at The Goodman Owen Theatre; (312) 443-3800.