‘Dave the Brave and the Pirateers’ Analyn Boydston

During Analyn Boydston’s childhood, she recalls fond memories of dancing cowboys and singing orphans. In a lot of these stories there are a suspicious amount of dance numbers with elaborate costumes and lighting, and a masked monster lurking in the wings. Not unlike a regular child, she went to school and made good grades, but her environment growing up made all the difference in her young life.
Analyn remembers one rather typical evening, when she was still very young. She was in fact, in her bed supposed to be sleeping while her living room was full of enthusiastic performers trying to rehearse their lines for an upcoming production. When one actor ostensibly forgot his big line, Analyn happily shouted it down from her bedroom, much to the delight of the cast. Understand, Analyn’s childhood was quite different from your normal imaginative child; her father, TimBen Boydston, is the artistic and executive director for the local Canyon Theater Guild. Her mother, Ingrid, is a director, choreographer and actor with the CTG as well as a teacher for the Saugus Union School District. Her parents joke that Analyn was performing before she was born, since her mother acted in two productions: a Shakespeare and a musical respectively, while pregnant with Analyn. Having been literally raised within the walls of the Canyon Theatre Guild, little Analyn spent her afternoons and free time playing pretend with peers and talented actors alike. Surrounded by the magic of theater, she developed a passion for the arts at an early age.
Between the ages of ten to thirteen, Analyn loved performing with the Juniors, but lamented at the limited number of scripts written specifically for kids within that age range. So instead, she helped her fellow actors think up complex and intricate backstories for their characters, make up random alternate sub-plots, and even practice improv while the rest of the cast was busy memorizing lines. They often played between breaks in the lobby or formed impromptu singing choirs in the bathroom (being the rabble-rousing theater kids they were). She will always remember those long summer days fondly.
Like this author, the young Analyn began developing her skills in writing early in life. After graduating from Valencia in 2017, she went on to complete her Associate’s in Business before deciding where to direct her talents further. During this time, she was also writing a monthly opinion column for the local SCV Gazette before the paper ceased publication during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was at this point her father encouraged her to try her hand at playwriting.
Although the carefree theater camp days of Analyn’s youth were behind her, the happy memories gave her inspiration for a number of new ideas. The first became a full pirate-themed play meant for elementary and junior high school-aged children. With mostly gender-neutral roles and a flexible cast size, Analyn watched as her idea came to life with ‘Dave the Brave and the Pirateers’, which was performed on an outdoor stage built specifically so the Juniors and other CTG Summer Theatre camp kids could perform even during the pandemic.
The kids performing had a similar sparkle in their eyes, as they donned their costumes and entertained their families, friends, and audience members with song and dance. Even the production number which Ana questioned herself over including became an audience favorite as the kids and adults clapped and jumped along to the “Crocodile Rap” onstage. For Analyn, bringing the same joy she felt in her childhood to the next generation of youth was the best reward anyone could ask for; but having her play accepted for publication by Eldridge Publishing house was an exciting achievement as well!
After the success of ‘Dave the Brave’, Analyn was eager to try again. While sitting at a restaurant one night, she asked her dad to come up with a title for a new show. She spent the evening scribbling ideas and potential scenarios on napkins and the “Marvelous Universe: The Superhero Musical” was born. It was produced for the first time by the 2022 group of Canyon Theater Guild Juniors.
Growing up surrounded by the magic of theatre, Analyn is fully aware of how many “behind the scenes” people any endeavor requires and she’d like to thank Jennifer Teague, Meredith Edwards, and Wade Bradford for helping her get this far. You can catch Analyn’s newest plays premiering this summer, right here at the local Canyon Theater Guild.
Any kids who think it might be fun to be in a world premier can sign up for this year’s production, “Mystery and the Monster Prom,” by calling the theatre at 661-799-2702 or visiting the theatre’s website at canyontheatre.org!

photo by Joie de Vivre photographie

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