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 Enhancing the lives of learning-disabled adults through the theater arts |
SPECIAL EVENT  Last winter our Creative Director, Jacqui Leader, took a video crew to The Volta School for the mentally challenged in Ghana, West Africa. The artistic work she saw – drumming, dancing, singing and reciting folktales – inspired her to create a collaborative performance piece combining the approaches and techniques of these two mentally challenged groups half a world apart. Please join us for an Africa inspired evening of cocktails and Ghanaia appetizers, drumming and fun, as well as a silent auction an a live preview of our ambitious new multi-media production: “Kokrobite” Saturday, October 24th 4:30 to 7:00 PM. At the sculpture studio of Hans Van de Bovenkamp 93 Merchants Path Wainscott, NY.
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Our company of learning disabled adults has been in existence since 1985, performing plays throughout the East End of Long Island with the help of a part time staff of three, including an Artistic Director, Production Coordinator, and Production Designer. We produce on average one new play every two years, which may be staged several times in different locations. Always eager to incorporate the talents of community artists, we have done just that on many ocassions with great success. Our active Board of Directors meets once a month, and our group of players rehearses every Saturday at a senior citizen's center in Bridgehampton, New York. We receive grants from Suffolk County Decentralization through The Huntington Arts Council to supplement local funding from the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton. Together with individual donations, these make up our operating budget. In 1987 we were invited by then Governor and Mrs. Mario Cuomo to perform Mikado in Mime at the Governor's Mansion in Albany as part of the Very Special Arts Program. In 1999 we produced a unique versionof Cyrano de Berjeracwith narration. In 2002 we produced an ancient Irish folk tale, The Legend of Deirdre, with a group of Irish Dancers, an Irish vocalist and musicians. That same year we also produced a live broadcast on LTV and WVVH reaching an audience of over 600,000. 2005's production was Scams of Scapin in the style of Comedia dell'arte and featured a mime from the Marcel Marceau School and a chamber quartet. We traveled to Rockland County to perform Scams for Camp Venture. Our most recent production was You Are A Petunia In My Garden, written by the Players themselves about their lives, hopes and dreams. A new production, Kokrobite, is being developed now and should be for staging early in 2010 It is our goal to reach out to other groups throughout the United States and Europe. Toward this end we have made contact through the World Wide Web with companies in Ireland, Italy, England, Canada and here at home in Pennsylvania. We would like to travel and perform for and with other groups and bring more visibility to this invisible segment of our society through increased funding for special projects. The East End Special Players, Inc., is a 501 (c) (3) Corporation sponsored in part by the Towns of Southampton and East Hampton and private donations. |
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