Director’s Notes:
“2020 Baby” is a story loosely based on the events of 2020, from Wild Fires to the ongoing Pandemic of COVID-19. When faced with the arduous task of finding inspiration for this year’s performance and the notion of acknowledging these events, it only made sense to reach out to local Vancouver author Celeena Sayani Antonio.
I had just purchased her book for my son, a 2020 baby, with the hopes of having something that would remember these moments in time and address them in child-friendly language. The most important element of Celeena’s book, and the part that really struck home with me, was hope. It wasn’t all doom and gloom - it had the right amount of balance of acknowledging what was while inspiring what can, and will be moving forward. I am so pleased with how this creative journey has evolved from a “could we try this” to a fully-fledged original production!
Staff and students alike have poured their hearts and souls into reiterating this message of learning and growth for the future. Our performance will take you on a guided journey through the elements of Celeena’s book from the perspective of both the characters she writes about, but also from an external narrative looking in.
I hope that you, too, are able to draw the same inspiration from our story and recognize how far we have come from those early Zoom days to now. Although none of this has been easy for any of us, it only goes to show how resilient we and more importantly our children are.
