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On Feb. 18, Oregon Children’s Theatre’s Young Professionals Company will open WROL (Without Rule of Law), a play about a group of eighth graders preparing to face the collapse of society.
“The YPs loved that the youth characters all had something to say: something that was important and felt authentic coming from them,” Dani Baldwin, artistic director of the YP company, said in a press release. “The play speaks to the powerless position youth feel—the feeling that adults left them this world and they need to fix it—and the responsibility that forces them to carry.”
The YP Company is a teen mentoring program. Its members personally selected the play, which was written by Michaela Jeffery.
“They loved that it was dark, but also had comedy,” said Baldwin. “It was topical—fear of government, fear of end of the world—and they thought the characters could see what was terribly wrong in the world when the adults had lost sight. It was a play which really stuck with them: It felt real.”
WROL is the first play that OCT will perform at the Multnomah Arts Center Performance Hall.
“If we learned anything from the past couple of years, it’s that we want to grow and reach other communities besides those who can access downtown Portland,” said Marcella Crowson, OCT’s artistic director, adding that “this is the first time we’ll produce a show outside our Black Box studio or the performance venues at Portland’5 Centers of the Arts, and while that is challenging, it is also extremely exciting and timely.”
WROL is recommended for ages 13 and up and will run through March 6. Tickets are $12-$15.