Box: Contact Deidre Mercer at (586) 263-8702 to purchase
tickets for $10 each. People with Disabilities are admitted free.
By JERRY WOLFFEThe MORC Players, who received a $2,600 grant, will present the innovative play, “Magic Journeys: Where Imagination is King and Dreams Come True!” at 7 p.m. June 23 at the Troy Community Center.
It is the second year the 20 or so MORC Players have
performed a play to showcase the creative abilities of people with cognitive
and physical disabilities.
“We are hoping to get people from Oakland and Macomb
counties to come in and be surprised by the level of enthusiasm and talent this
program, “Magic Journeys,” will demonstrate,” said Lou Fazzini, the executive
director and Founder of “All the World’s a Stage.”
The MORC Players received the $2,600 grant from the Michigan
Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Anton Center in Mount Clemens
before the players started practicing in April, Fazzini said.
“You give them a costume and they are just so happy to be
part of an acting ensemble,” Fazzini said. “They find the good in everything.”
The first play last fall was such a success, he said. “It
gave them an opportunity to do something that they probably haven’t had the
chance to do before in their lives.”
This is a good thing for these performers on a number of
levels, said Fazzini. “It creates an environment of safety and acceptance. It’s
therapeutic.”
Before practicing for the play on Tuesdays for the past few
months, the individuals attended a regular class on how to manage anger. “Then they
come and perform and the disruptive behavior disappears and each person learns
to be part of the ensemble and it’s a give-and-take relationship,” said
volunteer instructor Deirdre Mercer.
“The MORC Players are so giving and have such empathy,” said
Fazzini. “They have troubles but I have never seen a group of people who are so
genuinely honest and appreciative.”
The play is not scripted but is an actor’s showcase. The
actors/actresses are going to present and demonstrate acting skills they’ve
learned. “We worked a lot on nonverbal and pantomime skills and some of the
performance will get the audience involved to try and guess what someone is
trying to show or be through pantomime.
Our troupe members do something very creative, not the
standard way; they think out of the box and based on last year’s pilot
performance everyone has a good time and grows closer and the audience sees
performers, not people with disabilities.
Jerry Wolffe is the
writer-in-residence, advocate-at-large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center.
He can be reached at (586) 263-8950.
