Peace, love and hippies take over STC

It’s the middle of the ‘60s. Big hair, big dreams and bell bottoms are in. Standing in the middle of sexual revolution and hippie life is 17-year-old Alessandro Costantini.

President of Youth Entertaining Sudbury (YES) Theatre and director of Hair, Costantini said he’s “never worked with a cast that’s this hardworking and talented.”

The production, set to take the stage at the Sudbury Theatre Centre from Aug. 18 to 28, chronicles the life of a tribe of hippies living in New York City.

“It’s all about hippies and freedom and peace,” Costantini said. “It’s about youth trying to find their place in the world. I thought, who better to do it than the youth themselves.”

While Costantini promises “a great show,” Hair has sparked controversy in the past.

“(It) has been discriminated against and hated against for a long time,” he said. “There’s stuff in here people aren’t going to like, but there’s stuff in here people are going to love.”

With a wealth of acting experience behind him, Costantini started YES Theatre about a year ago.

“There’s so many shows out there that I really want to do, but nobody ever puts them on,” he said. “So I thought, if I start my own theatre, I can do whatever shows I want.”

About 60 people auditioned for roles in Hair, the first production put on by YES. Youths aged 15 to 23 have sewn the play together, taking care of design, lighting, music, acting and choreography, under the direction of adult mentors.

Mary Ann Belowos, artistic director of YES, said the youthful “tribe” putting on Hair couldn’t be better suited to the production.

“They seem to learn very quickly, they don’t seem to take as long to get into their parts, because they seem to identify well,” she said. “They also have more energy. I’m not saying there aren’t older people out there who have agile bodies (that) can move, but for this kind of production, you needed youth.”

Costantini, who has worked with many other theatre groups, said YES Theatre stands out to him.

“I’ve never worked on a show like this that’s just jelled so much,” he said. “I know people think that we’re youth, and ‘oh, let’s go see the little kids play,’ but this is going to blow the roof off of Sudbury for sure.”

The tribe is made entirely of youth from Sudbury. Some members of the group are new to theatre, while others are familiar with the stage.

“There’s a good group of us who are ‘seasoned actors,’ and there’s a lot of us who are new at this,” Costantini said.
Next summer, the young president plans to put together another production.

“I think the direction I want to go with the company is I want to do pieces that have meaning every year,” he said. “I want to do something that nobody else does. I know that people say its hard to sell shows like that, but the reason I started this theatre was to showcase the youth, and I know we can pull off difficult shows.

“I hope this can grow into a big, beautiful theatre company.”

Tickets to Hair are available at the Sudbury Theatre Centre, at a cost of $18 for students and seniors and $25 for adults. For more information about YES Theatre, visit www.yestheatre.com.