It's been 20 years since the first performance of a theater company for children with developmental disabilities in central Illinois. Since then, the program has spread to 57 locations in 25 states.
The Savannah sun rises over a carefully constructed Pride Rock in East Peoria Community High School's Eastlight Theatre, as the cast of Penguin Project's Lion King Jr. takes the stage for a Monday night rehearsal.
A watching audience is just a few short days away, and founder Andrew Morgan is making the final adjustments, checking every actor is in place and every Zebra and Gazelle head worn facing straight ahead.
Morgan is a developmental pediatrician and a participant in theater since his teens.
“And when I got married and had children, my children became involved. And I realized how much theater helped them develop social skills, communication skills, some of the very issues that were problematic and my patients,” he said. “And I said, ‘Well, we should use theater as a venue to bring out these skills. That's how it was born.’”
Morgan found a home for the program in the Eastlight Theater and, three years in, created a foundation, developed a process to replicate the Penguin Project, and took it on the road. Now there are programs from the west coast to the east.
“These are children who are often isolated. They don’t have friends, they don’t have activities. This gives them that opportunity to do things,” Morgan said. “And because of that they develop tremendous confidence in themselves to reach out, try new things. Things that they would never do before.”
For many of the kids that participate, it can become a long-term outlet for expression.
Grant Carey is a recent Illinois State University graduate in Creative Technologies. He's also Adult Simba in the Lion King and has been active in the Penguin Project for years.
Carey has grown into bigger roles, or “flying solo” as Morgan calls it, but he started like many others in the program, with a mentor helping out on stage.
“I am way more active and outgoing now,” he said. “Our first year, I was so socially awkward that every time I had to slow dance with her, my shoe coincidentally got untied for the entire dance and I had to tie it.”
The Penguin Project creates memories that stick with the performers. Carey recalls some memorable moments in the group's production of "Singin' in the Rain."
"Dr. Andy, the director, I wasn’t allowed to take it out of the packet, but he gave me a real cigar as a prop,” he said. “And more importantly, he let me eat real cake on stage.”
It's a titanic effort to get the whole show together. Morgan estimates that each performer puts in about 100 hours of work per season, with staff and volunteers spending around double that.
But it creates important memories for the staff, too. Stephanie Leverton has been involved with the Penguin Project for about 14 years. She started as a mentor.
“Then, when I aged out, I had just been helping periodically throughout college and things like that. Just to kind of keep my feet in the program,” Leverton said. “And now I’m on the production staff.”
Leverton helps with the drama and acting coaching now, but she describes the experience of mentoring as "life changing." She said, in the midst of the work, she never felt a distinct divide between the mentors and the artists. Leverton just enjoyed bringing a group together to create something meaningful.
“It was very beneficial, with being able to grow as a leader and kind of gain those leadership skills,” she said. “And how to respond to people who aren’t the same or may not react to the situation like you do. And to just make and create those relationships and friendships.”
Morgan sees the commitment of the staff and volunteers, the replication of the program in dozens of cities around the country and the program's ability to run on donations, grants and ticket sales, as evidence the formula works and is providing something critically important.
“What’s been wonderful is we’ve seen that expand every place we’ve gone,” Morgan said. “Children are making friends, children are getting engaged. Parents are just overwhelmed with what they see and communities have been incredibly supportive.”
The program is even deeply moving for some audience members. Rachel White is the assistant director for the Lion King now, but around a decade ago, she was a college student studying to be a special education teacher who just came to see the show.
“And I sat in the audience and wept,” White said. “Because I thought it was just the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.”
After a few years as a fan, White became a member of the group in 2012 and has stepped up this year as Morgan contends with health issues.
She calls the program "a picture of the best parts of humanity."
“I have always felt it’s just a little snapshot of how God intended the world to be,” White said. “Where everybody is just kind and loving and accepting no matter who we are.”
A place for kids who may struggle in day to day interactions to let loose on stage, build confidence and, Morgan hopes, become the young adults, employers and community leaders who support advocacy and inclusion in the years to come.
You can see the Penguin Project's performances of the Lion King Jr. this weekend. Tonight and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. All shows are at Eastlight Theatre at East Peoria Community High School. You can find more information here.
