The Penguin Project comes to SAAC
Years ago South Arkansas Arts Center Executive Director Beth Burns had a strong desire to bring special needs children to the theatre scene and after a long search she found the Penguin Project.
The Penguin Project is an opportunity for children with developmental disabilities to perform on stage in a play with “peer mentors,” or children of the same age without disabilities, according to the organization’s website. Developmental disabilities include down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, visual impairment, hearing impairment and other neurological disorders.
Cassie Hickman, music and assistant director, and Lynn Gunter, director, are in town to work on the Penguin Project at the arts center.
“(Burns) saw in her own son that he loved theatre, and he would love to be able to act on stage,” Gunter said. “She searched and searched, and she found this program that a doctor developed.”
Gunter mentioned that Burns’s son, who is autistic, was too old for the program, but said that Burns wanted to bring it to all other other children in Union County.
For each production, there is a special needs child and a peer mentor who play the same role. For example, the current production is Finding Nemo, so there will be two Nemos and two Dorys, Gunter said.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for children who would never get a chance to be the star leading roles to become the star,” Hickman said. “This is our fifth Penguin Project working together, and we watched children go from being nonverbal to being verbal, and actually doing choreography.”
Michelle Lee, the mother of children who participate as mentors, said her children have been participating in the project since it started.
“It taught them how to give back to the community and accept others and be accepting of people’s difference,” she said. “It’s an amazing journey for a family to be apart of as well. I helped backstage and watched these kids grow. When they first come in they’re all quiet and shy, but at the end of the day they gain this confidence that you can’t replace.”
Hickman also said it has been a great journey to watch the kids grow.
“We’ve seen children in wheelchairs coming back year after year, and there is always a smile on their face because they know they’re doing something wonderful,” she said.