On Tuesdays and Thursdays in November, the Minami Recreation Center in Santa Maria is filled with some special guests.
The small group gathers to quietly rehearse a performance that is set to debut on Dec. 3, a holiday-themed production written by the show’s director. The participants, about a dozen of them in total, are all part of a unique group of amateur theater and music performers known as the Special Needs Network (SNN) Drama and Music Club, based in Santa Maria. The group is open to adults with developmental disabilities living in Northern Santa Barbara and Southern San Luis Obispo counties.
SNN grew out of a group originally founded as a support system for parents of children with Down syndrome, said Diane Borad-Mirken, a member of SNN and the director of the holiday show. The group later expanded to include children and adults with all developmental disabilities who didn’t have access to social activities in their life after they completed school.
“The group started a whole group of activities with dances, picnics, potlucks, and more,” Borad-Mirken said. “And one of the activities is the drama and music club.”
Members of the SNN Drama and Music Club prepare two productions a year, including one especially for the holiday season. They rehearse two days a week at the Minami Center, a space provided free to them by Santa Maria’s Recreation and Parks Department.
“In addition to these performances, they have been invited to perform for teacher’s groups and other organizations, for talent shows, and for Tri-Counties Regional Center caregiver training,” said Nancy Shaw, SNN board member and chairperson for the Drama and Music program. “It’s geared toward adults with developmental disabilities. There are opportunities for younger people to do things like this, but there’s not much of a chance for it once they get out of school.”
Currently, the drama club consists of Matthew Gard, Adam Cargill, Lindsey Curb, Robert Lohr, Sarah Schramm, Antoinette Ellis, Kris Anderson, Lindsey Martino, Schuyler Saline, Jonathan Guzman, Taylor Stewart, and Kristy Soriano.
Borad-Mirken, a singer herself, joined about eight years ago when another member asked her to come help the participants learn to sing a song for their performance. She was also a public school elementary teacher for 35 years before she retired. She joined to just teach the music, and six years ago she stepped into the role of director.
“I write the plays,” Borad-Mirken explained. “I include real songs, and sometimes I change the lyrics to fit into the content of the play.”
People are allowed to join the SNN Drama and Music Club starting in high school. Most of the members in the current group are in their 20s through their 50s, Borad-Mirken explained, who all have a variety of developmental disabilities from Down syndrome to cerebral palsy and others.
“[It] is a very cute play about Santa leaving planet Earth to go to a new planet that was discovered several months ago,” Borad-Mirken said. “We happened to mention it in our last production. It’s called Kepler, and they say there is possibly life on that planet.”
In the play Borad-Mirken wrote for the group, Santa announces to the world that he is leaving the planet to move to Kepler. Despite the upset of children and families all over the world, Santa disappears to the new planet only to return a year later. Santa is greeted with songs, like “Willkommen,” from the musical Cabaret, and “Hello, Santa,” a take on the song “Hello, Dolly” from the musical of the same name.
“I changed all the words,” Borad-Mirken said. “So it’s, ‘You’re looking sad, Santa/it’s too bad, Santa/you’re not crowing, you’re not glowing, you’re not going strong.’ … They love singing. Some can barely talk but they still love the singing.”
Shaw said the drama program helps encourage members who have an interest in performing but not as many options to explore it.
“It provides a venue for them to do this,” she said. “[Borad-Mirken] tailors the show to what each members’ abilities are. Some can learn only a few lines. Some can only get a few words out. All of them can sing even if they sometimes have a hard time with the words.”
This production also marks the first time the group has advertised and opened their performance to the public, and board members like Shaw and Borad-Mirken are curiously watching to see what the interest from the community will be. Borad-Mirken said the biggest benefit to drama club members is that they get to do something they love, along with an opportunity to experience the applause and support of audience members including friends and families.
“The people are a joy to work with,” Borad-Mirken said. “They are always so proud of themselves. They get to go up on stage and do something the audience is so appreciative of.”
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose would also like to go live on Kepler. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 7, 2017.