When Voorhees High School student and Unified member, Alex Warner, wondered “can I combine my two favorite things at Voorhees: Unified and theatre,” fellow Unified students and staff members began to brainstorm how they could make that a reality. It all came to fruition on June 1st and 2nd when students with and without disabilities in the Unified program performed Seussical Jr. The show was so well received that an encore performance was held on June 4th due to community demand.
“Being a part of the first fully inclusive musical at Voorhees was one of, if not, the best experiences of my overall high school experience thus far. After coming out of the show and seeing the aftermath it caused, the only feeling I have is excitement to do it again on an even grander scale. The response from the audience was more than anything we could have hoped for and it just shows what one group of people can do with a couple of scripts and costumes,” said Warner, who played The Cat in the Hat.
The first step in the process was for an appeal letter to be written seeking permission from Music Theatre International to perform Seussical Jr. at the high school level, where some of students with special needs are up to age 21. While the company had never received such a request or heard about Unified in the theatre realm, they agreed, allowing Voorhees to open the door to an entirely untapped area for inclusion in the overall high school community.
Voorhees Drama Club advisor and theatre director, Nancy Lomas-Reynolds, who co-wrote the appeal letter said, “We came together as team for one common goal and I think that genuine investment in the process and in each other came across to the audience. The moments that were most impactful for me were watching peers support students on stage, the beautiful process of coming together as an ensemble, and the power of creating opportunities for students with differing abilities to be the stars of the show. It is obvious that the show made an impact on many students and community members. As a director, it was a great and rewarding challenge and one that I hope to have to opportunity to do again.”
Students from the Voorhees High School Drama Club and Unified program held a modified rehearsal schedule over the past two months to prepare for the show. Typical students and students with disabilities had lead solo roles. Unique modifications were utilized as needed to ensure students of varying abilities could all participate. For example, props were used to hide lines, augmentative switch devices were used for non-verbal delivery of lines, a sensory friendly area was set up back stage for performers to utilize between scenes, and while they performed, typical peers concurrently provided gestural prompts to fellow actors on stage as needed. Students also unified for roles – a single character was played simultaneously by a student with a disability and a typical peer; together, they stated lines and portrayed the character in an identical costume.
Voorhees student and Unified member Jacob Sawyer, who played Jo-Jo in the show, said, “My favorite part of the show was ‘It’s Possible’ because I learned it during play practice. I learned to do something other than playing. I actually learned new things, and I liked it. I liked singing and dancing, it was fun! Jo-Jo is my favorite character because he was wonderful. The play was great! I am so happy that everyone is proud of me.”
The performances of Seussical Jr. were not just a good time for the actors, but the show also broke down barriers and reminded us what is possible when we “choose to include,” the Unified motto.
“I am in absolute awe of what I have witnessed across three days at Voorhees High School. Seussical Jr., our first Unified Musical, and hopefully first of many, absolutely brought down the house like nothing I have ever seen in my profession; it was in an outright league of its own! Seussical Jr. will stand the test of time and be remembered as an event that truly changed social beliefs about what students with disabilities are capable of doing. Audience members were justly moved to have been part of something they knew was truly revolutionary – a historical event that I believe erased 100 years of perceptions. The theme of the show, ‘anything’s possible,’ perfectly defined what Unified is all about – our students matter, and they can do anything,” said Kelly Anne Kieffer, Assistant Principal of Special Education and Unified Program.
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