Asolo Rep Proudly Presents Kaleidoscope
on Monday, May 23, 2016
(SARASOTA, May 5, 2016) – Asolo Rep’s Education & Outreach department proudly presents Kaleidoscope: The Spectacular Sensation Extravaganza! on Monday, May 23, 2016 at 6pm in the Mertz Theatre, on the set of Asolo Rep’s world premiere of Josephine. The performance is the culmination of this season’s Kaleidoscope, an award-winning annual program founded by Broadway veteran Ann Morrison in 1995, which serves individuals with disabilities from local community organizations and schools to discover creative and personal expression through theatre.
This year’s Kaleidoscope participants come from four partner organizations and schools: Bayshore High School, Community Haven for Adults and Children, Easter Seals Southwest Florida, and Oak Park School. Throughout the three months of each residency, participants explore storytelling through acting, movement, music and visual arts at Community Haven and Easter Seals under the guidance of Ann Morrison and Asolo Rep’s Education and Outreach Apprentice Jenna Smoger, and at Bayshore High School and Oak Park School with Asolo Rep’s Education and Outreach Specialist Ria Cooper.
“Bringing these artists to perform on our mainstage gives them an exciting opportunity to dream big,” said Asolo Rep Education & Outreach Director Kathryn Moroney. “Because this year’s artists will perform on the set of Josephine, we used Ernest Hemingway’s description of Josephine Baker, ‘She was the most sensational woman anyone ever saw’ and challenged the Kaleidoscope participants to explore their own take on ‘the most sensational ______ anyone ever saw.’ On May 23 we will all witness the characters they’ve created in response.”
“The Kaleidoscope program is an incredibly valuable experience for the individuals we serve here at Easter Seals Southwest Florida for many reasons,” said Donald A. Herndon, Jr., Director of Adult Services Division & VIP Academy. “It provides a creative outlet for our consumers that teaches them different ways to express themselves and communicate. It also provides them with challenges that they work on individually and in teams. These challenges help the participants to develop skills that transition to many environments and that will assist them in becoming more capable and independent for the rest of their lives.”
Tickets are free but reservations are required. To reserve tickets, please call the box office at 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388 or visit www.asolorep.org.
Kaleidoscope is sponsored by the Virginia White Clark Fund of the Bank of America Client Foundation, Gulf Coast Gives/Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Fine Arts Society of Sarasota, Eluned and Edward Russell Charitable Foundation, Carol and Mort Siegler, Leon and Marysue Wechsler, LRWL Inc., and the Z Foundation
About the Founder
Ann Morrison (Kaleidoscope Founder and Teaching Artist) AEA-AFTRA-SAG. Broadway: Lovemusik; Children and Art; Merrily We Roll Along (1982 Theatre World Award). London West End: Peg. Off Broadway: Goblin Market (Drama Desk Nomination), Forbidden Broadway. Ann has done extensive regional theater including Free Fall Theatre: Into The Woods, Bernarda Alba, American Stage: On The Verge, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Driving Miss Daisy, New Century, Asolo Rep: Murderers, Banyan Theater Company: A Clean House; and world premieres, television, recordings, cabarets and concerts throughout the U.S. and England. Writer/performer: The Awen Triology, Annie’s Celtic Kitchen, Word Painting: Soliloquies Around an Easel, Trevor’s Fire, and Linda Lovely Goes to Broadway (Best Actress Award from the United Solo Festival). Co-founder: Kaleidoscope Theater and Gotta Van Productions; celebrating solo performances and new small cast plays that illuminate the human condition especially that of those who are perceived as “other than.”
About the Participating Organizations
The mission of Bayshore High School is to provide to all students an education that prepares them to be college and career ready by engaging them in rigorous academic work that promotes student achievement. The vision of Bayshore High School is to build relationships with all students to ensure academic success.
Through the support of the community and the generosity of its donors, Community Haven empowers independence and inclusion in all aspects of society for children, teenagers, and adults with disabilities by meeting their needs for therapy, education, socialization, housing, fitness, vocational training, job placement, and recreation.
Since 1946, Easter Seals Southwest Florida has been providing services to help abilities shine for individuals with disabilities and their families. Currently more than 500 individuals are being served from ages 0 to 86 and counting! Key services include development and early intervention in our Lily Preschool and Children’s Therapy program, elementary after-school program and summer camp, VIP Academy High School and an Adult Day Program. Life and job skills are developed and our on-site employment services cultivate employment opportunities and transitional support for our students and adults.
The mission of Oak Park School is to provide exceptional students with experiences leading to successful interactions with others, functional independence, and continued education or post-school employment suited to their individual needs.
