Prepping for the Penguin Project

Posted 7/27/19

Local hospital employee helps children with disabilities experience community theater opportunities.

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Prepping for the Penguin Project

Posted

BY ANDREW HEISERMAN
Staff Writer

Programs and activities offered for kids with disabilities have come a long way over the years through athletic programs, work programs and educational programs, but up until 2004 there was nothing within the arts.
The Penguin Project is a program that was created 15 years ago in Peoria by Dr. Andy Morgan and has since grown into a nationwide program with chapters throughout the United States. In this program, children with disabilities work with mentors (children of the same age without disabilities) to put on a modified version of a Broadway play.
The Penguin Project is offered by various community theaters throughout the country including DeKalb County’s Children’s Community Theater. Children ages 10 through 22 with disabilities work together to perform a full-length musical. Each year involves lots of planning and four months of rehearsal that could not be done without the generous help from Tracey Busby.
Busby works at Rochelle Community Hospital as the manager of outpatient services but volunteers her own time each year to direct the Penguin Project play. The project means a lot to her, as she has a daughter with a disability and an older son who does not have a disability. This program has allowed them to work together in the play as an artist and her mentor, ultimately benefiting each in their own ways.
“Not only does it serve to provide an artistic outlet, but there is a real social theme to it as well with a lot of partnership work. It also gives mentors an opportunity to learn about people with disabilities and mingle with people they would not normally do so,” said Busby.
Planning for each program begins in January with the show announcement in March. Rehearsals for the play begin in May and continue throughout the summer until the showtime in September. During the four months of rehearsals the artist’s and their mentors work on various things including vocals, choreography and remembering lines.

While the artists in the play steal the show, the mentors’ job is just as important
“The mentors do an amazing job because they have to be in the show and they have to remember all of their artist’s lines. If their artist might forget something or stumble over something then they are there to whisper in their ear what the line is,” added Busby. “So, they have a huge job, not only working with the other person, but they need to know everything as if they were the character.”
The play put on by the children is no different than it would be on Broadway, except for a few slight changes to help suit the children’s needs. No matter the role or the disability, Busby does everything in her power to help the child complete their role.
“I don’t treat my cast any differently than if I directed any other show. Now given that, we do make modifications, like if someone doesn’t speak they still have to do the lines in the script, but how can we help them to do that,” said Busby. “We had an artist with cerebral palsy and he was wheelchair-bound and did not speak. But I gave him a role with lines, his dad recorded it, he practiced pushing the button, and when he had to give his lines they were delivered.”
While this project benefits the children involved, the mentors, and the family members of the artists in many ways, it is not until the curtain closes on their first performance that the children realize how much they have accomplished.
“I think they don’t realize how far they have come or how much they have learned until the curtain closes on the first show. I think that hearing the clapping and the roar of the crowd gives them that sense of everything coming together,” explained Busby.
One of the main goals of this program is to provide a safe and creative environment for people with differences to come together and learn from eachother. This can help change the way that society looks at people with disabilities — to realize everyone is alike and to look at the many similarities rather than focusing on the few differences.
“I want people to know that you can never underestimate somebody because of a disability, my goal is always to have people look at my kids and forget that they have a disability,” Busby said.
This year, the kids will be performing Hairspray at Sycamore High School from September 12-15. Thursday, Friday and Saturday the play will begin at 7 p.m., and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
There is no charge to participate in the Penguin Project, everything is funded by DeKalb foundations, generous donations and grants. Anyone who would like to make a donation, start a local chapter or learn more about this program can visit www.penguinproject.org.