ILS clients to put on 'scary' show at UCA
By CAROL ROLF
Log Cabin Staff Writer

Monday, April 30, 2001

By Carol Rolf

Imagine sitting around the campfire at night as a kid, telling scary stories. That will be the scenario Tuesday night as a group of very special people in Faulkner County appear on stage at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas to perform in "A Scary Story."

Curtain time is 7 p.m. There is no admission charge and the public is invited.

The group is part of a program sponsored by the UCA departments of occupational therapy and speech, theater and mass communication. Most of the cast members are clients of Independent Living Services Inc. and Counseling Associates Inc. plus some from the community.

Acting Creates Therapeutic Success Participants (ACTS) include Judy Appleby, Terry Ashley, Dean Bridgewater, Fran Boyer, Sheri Burnett, Toni Burns, Karen Carr, Carolyn Dollar, Sandy Dowdy, Tammy Enos, Tony Fisher, Jason Goatcher, Susan Gordon, Heather Graham, Lewis Haden, Richard Hudson, Joseph Kemph, Harold Lott, Pam Lynch, Cherry Nelson, Ray Price, Carole Smith, Julie Smith, Elaine Stroud, Mary Walker, Casey Williams, Lynn Williams, Jacob Whitney, Dale Woodall, Brian Young and Kathryn Young.

Student performers include occupational therapy students Paige Smith, Ashley Smith, Heather Ireland, Yomika Johnson, Alicia Bost, Shannon Johnson, Tanya Farthing, Scott Love, Lori Brannon, Gennell Cox, Sarah Abbott, Holly Denison, Lynne Holloway, Fredrik Hansen and Anne Marie McKinney.

The play has been written by the performers themselves with the assistance of the students, explained Cathy Acre, who, along with fellow occupational therapist Jennifer Johnson, and Dr. Bob Willenbrink, chairman of the speech, theater and mass communication department, began the VSA arts program in Conway. VSA -- Vision, Strength and Artistic Excellence in the Arts -- was formerly known as "Very Special Arts," Mrs. Acre said, adding it is part of a larger international program, Acting Creates Therapeutic Success or ACTS. She said VSA arts was founded in 1974 as an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

"VSA is an international organization that creates learning opportunities through the arts for people with disabilities," Mrs. Acre explained. "VSA arts allows people with disabilities to contribute to the social, cultural and economic life of their communities, which in turn promotes disability awareness."

Mrs. Acre said the VSA Arts Program is funded, in part, by a grant which allows some of the students to be paid for their involvement and some receive class credit. The students appear in the skits with the clients, in a "shadowing" role, which allows them to assist the performers with their lines if need be.

She said the program has received a lot of positive feedback over the years, particularly from the clients' family members.

"One woman's brother told me the other night that he never thought his sister would be able to get up on stage and do this," she recalled. "And there she is, front and center. It's really a positive experience for everyone."