After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Penguin Project is back with a live performance featuring the Penguins in Disney's "Newsies Jr." this weekend.
Dr. Andy Morgan started the Penguin Project in Peoria in 2004 with his wife Kathy as a way to provide theater performance opportunities to children with special needs.
“They are the stars, they have all the roles, and each child is matched with a peer mentor … usually the same age who assists during rehearsals and also throughout the entire process and on stage,” Morgan said.
There is a wide range of special needs the program includes, including autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, genetic disorders, Cerebral Palsy, and other neurological disorders. There are no cognitive limitations as to who can be involved in the Penguin Project, unless their behavior becomes a danger to themselves or others, which Morgan says rarely occurs.
The most critical part of the project is the social development aspect. The theater and performing itself builds confidence, while the relationships developed with peer mentors become lasting friendships — ones that Morgan said are life changing.
“We talk about things being life changing, and this truly is a life-changing experience. We have so many stories about kids who were isolated, who were not involved, who all of a sudden blossomed and now have become very social, very active in their communities … so it’s really opened doors for many of these kids,” he said.
The Penguin Project has been so successful in its mission that after just two years in operation in Peoria, the program quickly spread across the nation, where the success continues.
The project conducts surveys with families who are involved in the project nationwide, and 98% of parents believe their children’s social and communication skills have improved, and of course the most frequent comment has to do with the strong bonds and friendships formed.
“As of right now, we have 52 chapters in 21 states around the country. It’s continuing to grow even despite the layoff from COVID,” Morgan said.
Theater across the country has been hit hard by the pandemic, with Broadway shows still closing due to the virus. While it’s no surprise the Penguins are happy to be back on stage, it’s not without some difficulty.
“I think that the pandemic has been especially hard on them because they have very few social networks, ours is the most important one, and unfortunately when this hit, we just had to shut down. We started back up again … we’re pretty strict in terms of our policies to protect the kids, but so far everything is going really well,” Morgan said.
He said he’s still unsure whether the penguins will be performing masked or unmasked, but all audience members are required to be masked for the performance.
"Newsies Jr." has just recently been made available for performance, and the Penguin Project Peoria branch is one of the first in the nation to perform it. It is a true story that follows the newsies, the kids who deliver newspapers in New York City through their journey of going on strike against the newspaper publishers.
“Our kids feel it's a lot about them, fighting for themselves, working towards a goal together … they feel like they’re a part of it,” said Morgan, who noted this particular show will be unique, in that there are more children who have speaking roles than ever before.
“So, if you come to the show, you’re going to see kids with all kinds of special needs through the entire spectrum not only just being part of the show, but actually having an individual part and having lines. It’s something that's new for us this year,” explained Morgan.
He also stressed the importance of the children having an audience to perform in front of and urged people to come out to see a fantastic performance, and the penguins in action.
“If you’ve never seen a Penguin Project show, it's special," he said. "And your first one is always the best one because you don’t know what to expect. We want to show what they’re capable of. We want to show their ability, and I think it's astounding what they’re capable of doing. We’ve never been disappointed, never.”
Disney’s "Newsies Jr." opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14., with shows also at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. Jan. 16. The shows will be performed at Byron Moore Auditorium at East Peoria High School. Find tickets and other information here.
