Lyric Opera 2024-2025 Issue 4 - Figaro

71 | Lyric Opera of Chicago The Future Teller , took place in a futuristic Chicago surrounded by a bio-dome. Despite these science-fiction elements, however, the production was still grounded in broader, contemporary themes, like the realities of living as a Black teenager in Chicago today. Many of the participants were graduating seniors, so they focused also on developing transferable skills they could use in the next step of their personal journeys. “We’ve had a lot of retention in the ensemble, so you definitely see their artistic vision start to develop,” says Mari DeOleo, EmpowerYouth! facilitator and a tour manager for Lyric Unlimited’s Opera in the Neighborhoods program. “Last year was about now: where you are now, what you’re going through now. This past season, we saw so much development with the people who stayed on. It was clear that they were still thinking about this; a lot of them were still seniors and were thinking about their futures, too.” The numbers tell the story as well. Nearly half of the group comprised returning students. Even more exciting: about half of the young artists (51%) had never participated in a performing arts program before EmpowerYouth! The students had big dreams: from owning their own businesses to launching their music careers. One notable past participant, Dr. Dorothy Jean Tillman, actually earned her doctorate in the first few months of the program — a truly impressive feat that highlights the drive and motivation of the next generation of performing arts professionals. “Very high-achievers end up in our room, and it’s really exciting,” DeOleo notes. Self-expression is among the broader themes that the program emphasizes. The group attended the opening night of Lyric’s 2023/24 production of Champion , Terence Blanchard’s opera about the life of boxer Emile Griffith. Both DeOleo and Jones were pleasantly surprised by the insightful, critical inquiries that many of the students asked throughout their engagement with the production. It was clear that the group was passionate about the performance and empowered to ignite their own creativity through music and storytelling. “The students asked such great questions,” DeOleo recalls with a smile. The group was discussing the story behind Champion , and a student posed questions about Emile Griffith’s support network. “I remember her saying, ‘Well, if I were to write it….’ To see them being inspired by that work and wanting to have feedback — have dialogue — with the work they had seen on stage was truly special.” “It was awesome to see people come into their power or continue to express things they know or have talent in,” remarks Jones. “One of the participants, Miles Brown, is a writer. When we were coming up with devising material, we had big themes and general ideas — some tableaus. He came in with a full pitch based in history!” Every student contributed in their own way, and that freedom of expression improved throughout the course of the program. According to DeOleo, as time passed, they saw the students begin to open up. While they arrived in the beginning feeling a bit reticent, they began to engage more deeply with their peers and make new friends. The 2023/24 group also attended the opening of Patric McCoy’s photography exhibition, concrete, rose. in the foyer of the Lyric Opera House. “We had some interesting conversations,” DeOleo reflects. “I was talking to one of the members and they knew the man in the photograph! That gravitas… to see them reflected in our space was really beautiful.” The participants were “dressed to the nines” as they explored the opera house and attended the exhibition leading into the Champion performance. The thought that went into the program was clearly felt by the students, too. When surveyed about their experience, the group divulged that they learned valuable skills such as leadership and patience; confidence, creativity, and collaboration; and lasting and valuable social skills. Ultimately, EmpowerYouth! provides a place where students can be — in one participant’s words — “unapologetically themselves.” Geoffrey Black EmpowerYouth! participants rehearse backstage at Lyric.