“Going into junior high was a pretty low point in my life, because you know, your dad has to work and your mom is going into the hospital,” Ross Collins said who, at the age of 12, lost his mother from breast cancer which metastasized throughout her body.

Getting pushed around and bullied was a common occurrence for young Collins, along with a slurry of internal demons he fought throughout childhood. He found help through a school guidance counselor.

“She took me under her wing in some way. She would talk to me and listen to me,” Collins said.

As the Fountain Hills Youth Theater Artistic Director, Collins has funneled his and many other’s experiences with depression, suicide, bullying and loss into an original Young Actors Benefiting Other Youth (YABOY) production, “Mumblety Peg,” with music by Miciah Dodge.

A parable to the centuries-old childhood game, “Mumblety Peg” involves the practice of children flicking a pocketknife into the dirt. The victor pounds a peg into the ground while the loser roots the peg out of the dirt with their teeth (mumbling the peg).

“Sometimes we get driven down so far, the only way out is by the skin of our teeth,” Collins said. “Sometimes, we just have to dig real hard, and so that's where Mumblety Peg came in to be the cornerstone to the whole thing.”

Set in the 1970s, “Mumblety Peg” touches on disturbing societal issues that have remained through present day, which opens to its main character, Colin Russell (Brody Willette-Zebell), preparing to end it all inside his high school in the presence of no one, or so he thinks.

Distracted at the eleventh hour by the sarcastic janitor (Tom Mangum), Kaufman’s life flashes before his eyes.

“No more sickness, no more strife. No more pain. No more shame. No more life,” Willette-Zebell sings at the precipice of life and death and, broken by societal and familial pressures, is forced to make the ultimate decision as he reckons with the faces of his past.

“There’s a lot of really nasty people and they’re dealing with their insecurities and if you seem secure, their job is to, in their mind, make you be like them. Break you down,” Collins said. “I tell the kids here, too, ‘Why do people insult you? Why do people make fun of you? because they’re jealous of what you got. They don’t have what you got, and they’ve gotta bring you down so they feel superior to you.’”

According to a new report by the CDC, young people – especially girls and those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning – are “engulfed” in anxiety and sadness. It’s why Collins encourages his cast members to seek the help they need.

“It turns out that almost everybody in the cast has a story,” Collins said. “I’m constantly saying, ‘You guys, this can be triggering…here’s all these numbers and names. These are the people that you need to call if you have questions, if there’s anything that’s causing trouble for you.’”

Each year, YABOY joins arms with a partnering organization to put on its annual production. This year, YABOY is proud to partner with The UBU Project, a performing arts education outreach organization specializing in social-emotional performing arts integration residencies in K-12 schools, youth centers, group homes and juvenile detention facilities.

“Mumblety Peg” is an original musical drama and very quickly became a 2004 ariZoni award recipient. In 2005, Collins took the show to the Suicide Prevention Conference, taking the stage as the event finale.

“We got a lot of positive feedback from a lot of people,” Collins said.

It took all of one year for Collins to write the production, and after coming in contact with the “brilliant genius” of Miciah Dodge, the play quickly took shape.

Through a thought-provoking script and musical score, theatergoers will learn about awareness, hope, resilience and the power of self-worth and kindness.

A portion of each full-price ticket to “Mumblety Peg” will be donated to The UBU Project. Additionally, FHYT will be distributing information about The UBU Project at each production and representatives from The UBU Project will be at the theater for select productions and talkbacks.

“There’s a lot of personal things that go into the show, from our youth and from my youth and things that compelled me in certain directions,” Collins said. “But luckily, I found some answers.”

“Mumblety Peg” will play Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 4 and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. from Feb. 24 to 26 at FHT, 11445 N. Saguaro Blvd. Ticket price is $18 and group discounts are available.

For additional information, call Fountain Hills Community Theater Youth Artistic Director Ross Collins at 480-837-9661 x112.