What would you change if you could go back in time?

For the titular character of the Alliance Theatre’s THE MANY WONDROUS REALITIES OF JASMINE STARR-KIDD, our 2023 Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, the answer was simple – convincing her parents to get back together. 

And did she try!

It is a fair question. We all, if we are willing to admit it or not, daydream about the possibility. We all have that thing, whether it’s one thing or a dozen, we want to change if given the opportunity. Maybe it’s more time with a loved one. Maybe it’s changing the outcome of a mistake. Maybe, just maybe, it’s trying to convince those closest to us to take a different path. 

We all, or at least most of us, have something we would go back in time to change. 

As part of the show’s run, we prompted showgoers to share what they would change if given the chance to go back in time. As the show closes, we wanted to share a few of the ones that stood out to us most. 

If you could travel back in time and change one thing, what would you change?

I would…

…trust my gut instinct, every single time. 

Take more action. Lead more. 

Fix a lot of my bad mistakes.

Start my career earlier. 

Play sports. 

Be nicer to my family. 

Change many of my overall life decisions that have led me down the wrong path. 

Save MLK and Robert Kennedy. 

I would stop…

Slavery

World wars

Ignoring red flags. 

The 2016 election. 

The United States from meddling in foreign affairs.

I would fix…

My relationship with my sister.

NOTHING! Everything happens for a reason. You learn through your experiences.