The Kaleidoscope Project is intended to bring together many perspectives and views that result in a beautiful pattern. Through a partnership between Community Arts Initiatives, Inc. (CAI) and Metzcor LLC, which began in 2020, participants are involved in weekly theatre arts activities during their day program.
Metzcor, LLC was founded by Ashleigh and Michael Metz as a way to bring a fun and modern approach to providing services to adults with developmental disabilities.
Metzcor provides an Adult Day program that is centered on enriching the lives of adults with disabilities by providing them with opportunities to be a valued and contributing member of their community.
Metzcor provides individuals with a safe work environment where they can develop new vocational and social skills and become more independent in all aspects of their lives.
Goal
This project was created to improve
communication skills and enhance social-emotional learning through theatre arts programming.
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A clearer understanding of personal strengths and needs
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The introduction of new ways to communicate personal needs
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The providing of tools to work through anxiety
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Development of trust and sense of acceptance
Theater Class
30-minute weekly classes
MOVEMENT: Exercises in each session are focused on physical gestures, blocking, and movement with a goal of helping the students better control their bodies inside & outside class.
VOICE: Vocal exercises encourage students to practice vocal notes and tunes for songs, helping with overall communication skills.
ACTING: These exercises help with remembering lines of dialogue and character creations with a goal to improve memory recall and processing time.
Future
Our goal was to produce a musical, leveraging the abilities, talents, and interests of this program’s population which ranges in age from 19 to 78 and
whose participants include verbal/nonverbal, and full to limited mobility.
We successfully mounted our first musical in October 2023 and will continue producing an adapted musical each fall.
Although there are several programs across the country through which students with disabilities are engaged in theatre games, classes, activities, there is no program anywhere in which adults with disabilities are brough together to “mount a musical.”
DRIVEN TO SUCCESS
The program started in October 2020 with three classes and 23 students. Initially, classes were held virtually through Zoom because of COVID but even through a pandemic the program was deemed an immediate success by the staff at Metzcor and has continued to see tremendous growth. Currently, we are serving almost 200 participants!
Working with Theatrical Rights Worldwide and playwrights Mark Friedman and Janet Yates Vogt, we have adapted scripts for this population and successfully mounted two musical productions! We are currently working on our third show. The shows will be available to rent through Theatrical Rights Worldwide. This is the first time anything like this has ever been done.
DOCUMENTARY
Debbie Hill; Founder & Executive Director communityartsintiaitves@gmail.com 513-379-2108 © 2023 by Community Arts Initiative
Trailer to Alice in Wonderland Documentary
Password: Wonder456