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Vol.
14, No. 1
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Accessible
Arts announces the return of one of its most popular programs, the 99
Drums Music & Cultural Camp. This unique program will be held at
the Kansas State School for the Blind, April 21-22, 2007 and there is
still time to register your c 99 Drums is a weekend of interactive music and dance workshops exploring the arts, customs, and food of West African, Native American, Caribbean and Early American cultures. Workshops and performances will be presented by professional artists from the Traditional Music Society (Bird Fleming, Director), Accessible Arts, two Native American tribes and local ethnic communities. This camp will bring together a group of children with and without disabilities to experience music and dance in a celebration of diverse cultures in an inclusive environment. The weekend will culminate with a FREE Public Performance on Sunday, April 22nd at 2:30 PM at the Kansas State School for the Blind. Jay Mule, shown here performs a Native American Dance at the public performance. Adult volunteers are needed to assist with serving meals and registering children. If you are interested, please call Andi Meyer or Eleanor Craig at (913) 281-1133. |
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Special Performance
& Reception!
Accessible Arts proudly presents the world premiere of The Country of the Blind at the Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. On Friday, March 30th at 7:00 pm, Accessible Arts invites you to attend a special performance and reception honoring our 25th Anniversary. The cost is only $15 and includes a VIP reception and refreshments. If you mention this article when you call, you’ll receive a $5 discount! The
experience of being an ‘other’—in this instance a seeing
man in a world of blind persons—is the major thrust of The Country
of the Blind. This distinctive new play by Kansas City playwright Frank
Higgins, reverses the idea of disability. The play is unique because audio
description is built into the narrative so non-sighted and sighted audiences
will have full access. The Country of the Blind is based on an H. G. Wells short story. Eduardo, a poor farmer who is blind in one eye, climbs the high Andes Mountains in search of a legendary lost village called the Country of the Blind. He hopes and expects that the old saying will prove true: “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” When he reaches the village and finds the people are without sight, he is convinced he will quickly be made king. However,
incident after incident proves him wrong in a world that no longer knows
the word ‘see.’ The people have developed their other senses
and are self-sufficient without his help. Eduardo falls in love and gains
permission to marry Medina, the woman of his dreams, if he will agree
to enter their society by paying a steep price. His decision and its outcome
make up the climax of the play. From April 2-15, 2007, the production
will tour middle schools, high schools and community centers throughout
Kansas. Professional artists will present a companion workshop that features
highly interactive activities focusing on themes from the play. Please plan to join us for the special performance and reception on March 30th. The play is appropriate for 5th grade students through high school and adults so bring your whole family! |
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Have you ever listened to a baby’s intensely spoken babble and realized that even though you had no clue what the child was saying, you were certain the child knew exactly what he or she was trying to communicate? Do
you remember how frustrating that felt...for both of you? Anyone who has helped raise a child knows that a baby’s desire to communicate precedes his ability to do so by many months.
One way to bridge the communication gap is sign language, an increasingly popular method of teaching hearing babies to “speak their minds.” Long before babies can verbalize, they can use their hands to gesture. “Teaching
your baby to sign is giving them the means to express themselves,”
explained Anne Meeker Miller, a music therapist, Ph.D. and author of
Baby Sings & Sign, a new book detailing her program of teaching
sign language to hearing babies through music and play. “Plus
they can get their needs met, which is the big payoff,” Miller
added. “We
found that music consistently engaged the babies in the learning of
sign language,” Miller explained. “We use a play-based approach.
It’s important that the music be a focus as well as the sign language.”
Miller has recorded a compact disc of thirteen folk-based songs as a
companion to the Baby Sing & Sign book that introduces over 40 core
vocabulary words featured in the book.
Baby
Sing & Sign classes are now available at two hospitals in the Kansas
City area, where she lives and works as a music therapist for a suburban
school district. Parents learn how to sign the words to the songs while
also reinforcing the signing through hands-on games and play. The
fact that it’s fun and gives parents a special time and event to
share with their babies is just icing on the cake. “Play
is the baby’s work. Play is important,” Miller commented.
“We engage the babies with activity and song. By getting them in
touch with our ‘inner baby,’ we’ve noticed that the babies
respond well to our energy, animation and humor.” And
that spells love and contentment in any language. More information about Anne Meeker Miller’s program and her books, CDs and classes can be found on her web site lovelanguageforbabies.com |
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PLEASE UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS Have you changed your email address within the last year or two? If so, we may have lost track of you. Increasingly, we send notices about various programs by email and when they are returned, we realize the email was our only contact information. We also plan to begin emailing this newsletter in the future. So please send an email to accarts@accessiblearts.org and we will update our records. At the same time, please confirm your mailing address and phone numbers—or change of name. Remember that during the summer, we may not be able to reach you if we have only school contact information. You are valued as a friend of Accessible Arts and we’d like to keep in touch with you. |
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Accessible
Arts is collaborating with the Jellybean Conspiracy to produce a community-wide
project in Rose Hill, Kansas (just south of Wichita) April 27-29. The
Jellybean Conspiracy project will create a partnership between the Rose
Hill high school theatre and special education departments to produce
The Jellybean Conspiracy Play. The plot tells the story of a teenage
girl and her brother who has Down syndrome. The cast will include performers
from the high school’s theatre program and from special education
classes. Middle school students will be bussed in to see matinees. Members
of the surrounding communities are invited to attend public performances
in the evenings. Accessible
Arts will also provide a Creating Arts for All workshop on Friday, April
27th. This professional development training in arts and disabilities
is for teachers, artists, and special education personnel. The cost
is only $20 and includes dinner and tickets to the Rose Hill Jellybean
Conspiracy play. Please call (913) 281-1133 to register, or visit our
webs site at www.accessiblearts.org for more information. Accessible
Arts will also provide interactive music workshops for the middle school
students who see the play. Finally, Accessible Arts artists will present
a Families with a Beat workshop that gets the whole family drumming,
dancing and singing. Accessible Arts presented this project in Holton, Kansas in February and it received rave reviews. |
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This choreographer charms everyone she comes into contact with and has filled an important role throughout Kansas and Missouri through her work with The Jellybean Conspiracy. The Jellybean Conspiracy is a play that is performed as part of a high school theatre's regular season. The lead is always a student who has a developmental disability-usually Down Syndrome, and also features a cast that includes local students who have disabilities. It is in part due to Gaby that the production makes a lasting impact on the students and community. Local school personnel and students find her a joy to work with as she inspires students to have fun, to appreciate differences, and to reach the heights of their abilities. More information about Honorees can be found at http://www.accessiblearts.org/Awards%208-01Table.html |
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The Accessible Arts Board of Directors and Staff members would like to thank all the wonderful people who supported our agency in its infancy and provided a strong foundation for success during our first 25 years. Thank You!
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Discover
the Discovery Trails! The
Discovery Trails Program in a nutshell: The Discovery Trails Program engages blind teens in a lived-experience of pioneering along westward Trails. We organize historically accurate adventuring, camping and creative arts to facilitate teens’ personal growth and to enhance their capacity for community service to schools and civic groups. The
Big Idea Blind
students often acquire much of their information about the world through
what others tell them, not through direct experience. Blind adults often
lead sedentary lives because as youths they had very limited opportunity
to be engaged in cultural activities and to be physically engaged in the
outdoor environment. The general public rarely sees persons with disabilities
engaged in outdoor activities and this is especially true with low incidence
disabilities such as blindness. This contributes to employment situations
in which the public cannot see blind adults as able, contributing partners
in the work place.
The
Discovery Trails Program is no longer just about traveling pioneer trails.
Supporting curriculum has been developed through funding from the National
Endowment for the Humanities and VSAarts. Trail teens annually create
a history-through-the-arts program that they take to elementary schools
and civic groups throughout the year, demonstrating to themselves and
to the public that they are competent contributors to their communities. Superintendents
of National Parks from Kansas to Oregon have received valuable input on
accessibility from the teens. The 2006 Trail teens created life-sized
sculptures of themselves as pioneers for an exhibition in Salt Lake City
at a national convention of families and professionals serving blind youth.
In 2007, the Trail participants will organize and present an evening of
pioneer entertainment for a similar convention in Omaha, Nebraska. Through
the arts, the teens introduce an ever-widening audience to the pioneer
West as a learning environment where youths with visual impairments discover
history and themselves. The
Superintendent of the Kansas State School for the Blind, William Daugherty,
has said, “The issue of ac The
Future In
the coming years, we will continue expanding the Discovery Trails Program
while developing an initiative to include regular classroom teachers as
interns on the trail treks. Starting this summer, we will invite experienced
teachers to join a trek along the Oregon Trail, and then in the fall to
partner with the trail teens in designing and carrying out a curriculum
for the teachers’ classrooms. For further information about the Discovery Trails Program and to acquire DVD documentaries about the Program, contact Eleanor Craig at ecraig@accessiblearts.org or call 913-281-1133. |
 As
a non-profit organization, we are always looking for donations which help
us meet our large commitment to champion the arts for children with disabilities.
Our “Wish List” is one way to engage the community. Are you a
business or individual who has items you no longer use? Perhaps you know
someone who does. Below are suggestions that may give you some ideas of
how you can help. Of course, financial donations are also welcome. |
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Arts
Supplies & Other Items
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Volunteers
Needed To Help With:
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Model magic
clay (by Crayola) |
Watercolor
paper |
Bulk mailings |
Wichita Administrative Center 888-815-6364
Garden City Center 888-820-6364
Kansas City Center 877-499-9443
Topeka Center 800-264-6343
Celebrating 25 years of serving Kansas families that include a child with a disability.
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Accessible Arts Board of Directors
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Accessible Arts Staff
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Friday, March 30th, 7:00 PM
Country of the Blind Performance & Reception
Coterie Theatre, Crown Center, Kansas City, MOSpecial performance of this world premier play in honor of Accessible Arts' 25th Anniversary. Tickets are only $15 and include a VIP reception with refreshments. For tickets call 913/281-1133.
Saturday - Sunday, April 21-22
99 Drums Music & Cultural Camp
Kansas State School for the Blind, Kansas City, KS
A weekend of interactive drumming and dancing workshops for children of all abilities, ages 9-15. Workshops will cover West African, Native American, Caribbean, and Early Americana cultures.
Friday, April 27, 3:00 PM
Creating Arts for All Workshop
Wichita, KSProfessional development workshop in arts and disabilities for teachers, artists, special education personnel, etc. Cost is only $20 and includes dinner and tickets to the Jellybean Conspiracy show in Rose Hill. For information please call (913) 281-1133.
We are happy to continue sending our newsletter to all persons who wish to receive it. If you would like to remain in our database as a consultant, artist, etc. but no longer wish to receive the newsletter, please let us know. However, if you no longer want to remain in our data base, please help us by letting us know. We will immediately remove your name from our list. If you have any changes or updates for our mailing list, please notify us. You can e-mail us at accarts@accessiblearts.org or drop us a note at Accessible Arts, Inc., 1100 State Ave., Kansas City, KS, 66102-4411 or feel free to call us at (913) 281-1133. We also welcome feedback about our programming, the content of our newsletter, and our web site. Thank you for your help in this matter.
1100 State Avenue,
Kansas City, KS 66102-4411
(913) 281-1133 [Voice & TTY] (913) 281-1515 [Fax]
eMail
Us:
accarts@accessiblearts.org
For large print or Braille newsletter contact Accessible Arts
Home | Who We Are | What We Do | Calendar | Cultural Access | Arts Center | Resources | eMail Us
hild.
The
Country of the Blind is co-produced by Accessible Arts and the Coterie
Theatre and features three actors with disabilities among the talented
cast. Accessible Arts Executive Director Martin English directs the show
and Program Director Kit Bardwell provides Musical Direction and Choreography.
“Singing
a song prompts the context for the sign and provides an opportunity
to practice,” Miller said. “Kids love repetition and routines
are so precious to them...even if families don’t end up signing
a lot, they end up singing a lot, which is also very important.”
Rose
has worked especially with children who have severe behavior
disorders at the Greiffenstein Special Day School. She incorporates
sign language into her music program to help students who
have communications disorders and as a non-verbal expression
for students who have severe emotional issues. Rose established
a special learner's music program at the College of Fine Arts
Institute at Wichita State University (WSU) where she teaches
music methods, with a focus on inclusion and integrating the
arts into the core curriculum. 
McHugh
has worked primarily on the east side of Wichita with
early childhood and adolescents who have moderate
to severe mental retardation. Through Parents as Teachers
and Arts Partners, she inspires parents and children
of many cultures, as well as children living in poverty.
She has also worked with the homebound program. McHugh
helps her students develop arts skills for their transition
to sheltered workshops and group homes and to use
music and art as appropriate leisure activities for
their continued intellectual growth. She is especially
noted for her use of creative movement and dance with
students of all ability levels and types of movement
disorders. Numerous Wichita festivals, training forums
and arts events have benefited from her interpreter
skills, and she has provided workshops for the local
school district through Arts Partners.
Gaby
Lucas began her theatre and dance training in her native Coatzacoalcos,
Mexico. She later got her B.F.A. in performing arts at Wichita State
University where she was awarded as a participant in the American
College Dance Festival (ACDF) at Duke University. Gaby has choreographed
and performed in Kansas City with The Coterie Theatre, Theatre for
Young America, City in Motion Dance Theatre, AHA Dance Theatre, Starlight
Theatre, and Chameleon Theatre Company. She is currently resident
choreographer for BEST Network and The Jellybean Conspiracy.
In
1998, a “wagon” of four teens and four adults struck out to
explore 1000 miles of the Oregon Trail. By 2003, it was clear that the
Discovery Trail Project camping trips were leading to something very substantial
in the world of blind persons and for the wider world as well. With major
funding volunteered by the National Park Service, 30 modern pioneers trekked
5,000 miles in three weeks from Kansas City to Oregon and back by minivan,
canoe, wagon, horseback and on foot. The “wagon train” met with
artists, ranchers, historians, American Indians, and hundreds of fellow
travelers and small town residents, learning much and leaving the public
with a new appreciation of the capabilities of persons with disabilities.
Returning home, the pioneering teens used generous funding from VSAarts
of Washington, D.C. to engage the general public in creating a large mural
about the Lewis and Clark Trail. Through the
winter months, they planned and carried out arts-based teaching programs
in local classrooms. A professional documentary about their journey was
aired on Kansas City public television and at Lewis and Clark events from
Missouri to Washington State. A second professional documentary received
wide public attention through Kansas City public television and a third
documentary is in the works.
cessibility
for people with disabilities is on the upsurge after a lag when everyone
thought the endgame was wheelchair ramps and Braille on elevators. The
Discovery Trails Program has been all about inclusion and accessibility
at levels that have rarely been approached—accessibility to the outdoors,
to history through immersion, to the arts as a vehicle for reflection,
expression and teaching, to full participation in the culture and to opportunities
to offer service to the community.”
