Key Points:
- “Dear Everything,” a musical inspired by the youth climate movement, kicks off a four-city tour in Atlanta on Sept. 25 at The Eastern.
- Maya Penn, an Atlanta-based climate activist, leads the Dear Everything Youth Council, activating youth climate activists across the country.
At only 25 years old, Atlanta-based climate activist and entrepreneur Maya Penn has 17 years of experience under her belt.
Like many other Gen Z people, Penn was aware of the climate crisis at a young age, and at eight years old was inspired by her love of the environment to start a sustainable fashion brand.
Since then, she has utilized art to find unique ways to mobilize people toward environmental protection. That’s why “Dear Everything,” a musical project celebrating youth climate activists like her, was a perfect fit.
“Dear Everything” kicks off its four-city tour in Atlanta on Sept. 25 before traveling to Miami, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City. The show follows a group of adults in a small town willing to sacrifice their forest for money, and the young people, led by teenager Sophia, whose determination to save the forest endows them with powers they never knew they had. The story is not one of fear, guilt, or tragedy; it’s a story of hope.
“When you talk about climate change as a topic, no one knows where to start. It’s so stress-inducing, it’s scary, it makes people feel hopeless,” Penn told Rough Draft. “A lot of people know that they’re experiencing the effects of [climate change] through all these extreme weather events. This is people’s lived experience, and it’s really scary. Something like this project [approaches climate change] in a way where it’s instead giving hope to people, re-energizing people, and also showing people how they can directly make a positive impact instead of feeling disempowered.”
“Dear Everything” is the brainchild of an award-winning creative team – Tony-winning playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler), Tony-winning director Diane Paulus, Grammy-nominated songwriter Justin Tranter, singer-songwriter Caroline Pennell, songwriter and producer Eren Cannata, and orchestrator Daniel Crean – but it also directly involves the youth who inspire its story. The show will incorporate local youth choirs into each performance in the central role of “Earth Choir,” and Penn leads the Dear Everything Youth Council. She will invite youth activists in each city to get involved with the show, table about their respective climate efforts, and contribute to an on-site youth art exhibition.
“It’s not just about telling the story [of youth climate activism] itself, but it’s about directly helping and supporting the people who this show is really inspired by on the front lines,” Penn said.
Penn said the team is hoping to attract those who are on the front lines of negative climate impacts, like firefighters, nurses, and farmers, but the show is for everyone, whether you love musical theater, love nature, need hope in a dark time, or just want to have a fun night out.
“Everyone should have access to clean air, clean water, and nature they can enjoy and experience,” Penn said. “…The thing I really love about this project is that there is something in it for everybody, no matter who you are or what your background is, no matter if you even know or care about climate change. It’s such a heartfelt, great story, the music is so amazing.”
Dear Everything comes to The Eastern on Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $25 at deareverythingonstage.org.
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