AYPT celebrates three decades of dedication to kids
Performance of ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ marks 30th anniversary of the Appalachian Young People’s Theater

Kevin DeLury - Entertainment Beat

Children gathered around St. George, a large green dragon, and all the villagers of Guildemere at Valborg Theatre over the weekend. There was an air of awe and excitement about these children that served as an excellent example of the mission of the Appalachian Young People’s Theatre (AYPT).

“The Reluctant Dragon,” just one of the latest installments by the AYPT, provided humor for young and old alike, as well as gave a very important message of tolerance, honesty and alternate conflict resolution.

From the sets to the costumes to the energy the actors brought to the stage, the entire performance was incredible in its scope. The amount of time and effort the students and faculty put into the production truly showed.

As well as being a hilarious and thought-provoking play, it was also special for the AYPT; this event marks the 30th anniversary of the program. After the Saturday performance, actors and the audience celebrated the “birthday” of the program with a small party in the lobby of the theater.

Teresa Lee, an associate professor in the department of theater and dance at Appalachian State University, has also been the director of AYPT for the past 15 years.

“’The Reluctant Dragon” is a very special event,” said Lee. “It’s the first time we’ve ever had this kind of show on the Valborg stage.”

The program usually does their on-campus performances at the I.G. Greer Arena Theatre.

Things didn’t exactly go as planned for the first days of the production’s running, however.

“We had scheduled to bus in Watauga County sixth-grade schoolchildren on Wednesday and Thursday, and the weather didn’t cooperate with us,” said Lee. “The schools were out and those performances were cancelled. At the last minute, I called up the snow day program at Hardin Park, and we coordinated with the snow day program and got all the snow day kids over here. We did a show for them Thursday morning and they loved it.”

The AYPT has been performing children’s theater for surrounding public schools, libraries and museums since 1972. They have also performed at a number of theater conferences throughout the Southeast. They were awarded the Constance Welsh Award for excellence in theater for youth in 1996.

The AYPT expanded their mission in 2000 to not only neighboring schools but also to the remote areas of the highlands of Scotland with their production of “The Tarheel Tales.”

Even as “The Reluctant Dragon” was running, AYPT members had already begun to prepare for the spring performance of “The Arkansaw Bear.” That show will run April 5-7 at Valborg Theatre, as well as in surrounding schools.

“One of the aspects of our mission statement is to tour in largely rural areas of western North Carolina,” said Lee. “A lot of places that we go to, we’re taking theater to schoolchildren who rarely get to see any cultural events. I think it’s a special program for that reason.”