SENSE Theatre - A Stage Of Hope For Children With Autism: February 2010

-A Mother's Story

Just over a year ago I’d heard that a spunky, brilliant, and caring doctor at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute was developing a program to put children with autism on stage in a musical to perform in front of a live audience. My first reaction was, ‘wow that’s brave’. As it turned out, brave as Dr. Blythe Corbett certainly is, she proved so many of us doubters wrong. She not only put children with autism on stage in a musical in front of 6 packed theatre houses, she gave our children a unique and precious experience I’m quite certain they’ll remember fondly forever.

I have twin boys who have autism. When they were first diagnosed at age 3 ½, they were non-verbal, engaged in self stimulating and self injurious behaviors, they had significant fine motor skill delays as well as social & cognitive delays. If anyone had said, your kids would be performing in a musical on stage in front of a live audience; I would have thought they were being cruel.

With much apprehension; we completed all of the paperwork for our sons to participate in SENSE Theatre’s first production, Jungle Book Kids in March 2009. We took home the Cortisol sampling kits for the research piece of the project Dr. Corbett was simultaneously conducting, and the boys both endured blood draws all before the first day of rehearsals and I kept wondering – will this be worth it?

Everyday for any parent is uncertain at best, but when faced with raising children with an autism diagnosis, uncertainty is always looming overhead. For years we’ve had a constant feeling like we are uninvited guests in a world of neuro-typicals - always the square peg trying to fit into an unchanging an unforgiving round hole.

At the start of the project we could not comprehend that anyone could have the patience and understanding to handle the constant struggle Ethan & Devan would impart. We doubted that we’d make it very far in the project and while we were cautiously optimistic, we never prepared ourselves for the outcome of success.

Day One

We entered the theatre and immediately the boys dart off into opposite directions. One beelines it to the stage; the other to the back of the house zooming up the stairs 2 by 2. It was a good thing my husband & I decided to go together. We wrangled them up to sit with their fellow cast members near the front of the stage. The sitting part didn’t last long. They were up and around, down the halls, into the green room, climbing on sets, hanging on the curtains in the wings and opening emergency door exits. Needless to say after running after two 45 pound six year olds, we were exhausted. When we got home that night we got the boys to collect their spit in these tiny vials provided by the SENSE lab and recorded the events of the day in the log for future researchers to analyze. Feeling somewhat defeated, I briefly contemplated calling Dr. Corbett that night to tell her we quit. However, this thought quickly vanished; we are not quitters and surely the next rehearsal would be better. While the boys did not appear to have had a good time, I caught them both singing one of the Jungle Book songs in bed, “look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities, forget about your worries and your strive!” And that was it for me – I would not feel tired, I would not complain, I would not worry – I would dutifully drive them 45 miles to rehearsals for 2 hours and happily drive another 45 miles home 2 or 3 times per week to see them perform live on stage in front of 6 packed theatre houses.

Day Four

We entered the theatre as before and unlike the times before both boys sought out their SENSE buddies with no prompting required. Progress already! The SENSE buddies were neuro-typical cast members who volunteered to help a child with autism in the cast. Ethan would ask for Eric, Chris & Turner by name and each time he saw them at rehearsals, a huge grin lined his face. Devan would ask for Camilla, Autumn, & Turner and they were all there each day with open minds, open hearts and open arms. The SENSE buddies also spent extra time learning the parts of the children with autism. The SENSE buddies performed these additional roles while being video recorded. The videos were uploaded to a website for us to stream at home so the boys could rehearse their parts throughout the week. These videos were ingenious! We’d just click play and the boys would come running into the den and start singing and acting without us having to convince them to rehearse.

Tech Week 3 Months Later

iPhones, V-tech games, M&Ms, gummy bears, Star Wars figures, token charts, squishy stress balls, books, play dough, and puzzles covered the green room. The parents & the SENSE buddies retreated to the green room with the kids after each song to break and regroup. The costumes took some getting used to, working out the kinks of the bumble-bee head dress, the bulky feeling of the stripped fabric draped over head, the wolf head that wouldn’t stay on top of Devan’s head, and the Kaa snake puppet resting on his back. Ethan had a hard time keeping the bee antennas on. Do all bees have antennas and could he be the exception? Fortunately the Under Armor shirts Ethan wears everyday worked into his costume. I was impressed how all 8 of the SENSE participants adapted to their awkward and bulky costumes. Even Ethan eventually kept his antennas on. It seemed that the show was coming together just in time for opening night.

Opening night June 12

I can’t recall if there were any mistakes that night, but the reviews suggested that it was perfection in action. I felt very much in a daze. Was it really happening? A mild panic struck me every 5 minutes; after all of their hard work, would they walk away from this experience and have fond memories? Or would they only remember the long hours spent on the road to get to and from rehearsal and the extra demands placed on them? Whatever would happen that night was already set in motion has the house lights went out and the bright stage lights glowed. Here we go, for better or worse. Looking back now I realize how ridiculously tense I was about the whole thing. I should confess that I learned a lot from the experience, perhaps even more than the boys did.

The Gala Show Third performance June 13

With 2 sold out performances under their belts, the cast would take to the stage for the 2^nd time in one day. After the matinee performance we drove to my parent’s house; which wasn’t far from the theatre. We were greeted with a warm welcome and much needed sustenance. I wasn’t sure that doing 2 shows in one day was asking too much. In addition it would be the first show both my husband and I would be sitting in the audience instead of helping the boys backstage. We had front row seats, stage left. After the first song Ethan spotted me in the audience; he ran off stage into the audience and with his huge partially toothless grin he said, "Mom, I did it!" I felt as if the wind was knocked out of me. I held back tears of joy just then because I didn’t want to be blinded during the rest of the show, but I bawled my eyes out later that night. Ethan did do it, he was on stage, singing and acting and dancing and having fun! He was proud of himself, he felt good about himself and I felt good about the world again, about the future. After a quick hug, he ran back on stage and continued on with the show. We refrained from uttering the phrase “break a leg” which would have horrified Devan & Ethan both taking it for its literal meaning, but I was sure in the true spirit of the theatre, they broke both legs!

Post SENSE Theatre Jungle Book Kids

A short while after the last show we found ourselves turning in the last of the cortisol samples, completing post evaluations and going in for the post-show blood draws for the research portion of SENSE Theatre. Was that going to be it? It wasn’t clear where SENSE Theatre would go from here. Funding for SENSE Theatre wasn’t there; this was run on a hope, a prayer and the generosity of Dr. Corbett, her husband Ed Bazel, and some sponsors. Fortunately through the help of Amy Lewis & Ed Crane at KFBK 1530 News Talk morning show, they interviewed Dr. Corbett who was looking for a new theatre to call home for SENSE. Dr. Corbett received a call the same day as the interview from Brent Null at Magic Circle Theatre in Roseville and the rest is history.

2^nd SENSE Theatre production, The Wizard of Oz

Devan and Ethan are in the 2^nd SENSE Theatre production in conjunction with Magic Circle Theatre, The Wizard of Oz. The boys each play 2 different roles; appropriately cast as Munchkins & Flying Monkeys. When I approached the boys about doing another show after Jungle Book Kids, they both happily accepted and have been having fun each week ever since rehearsals started back in January.

Although we can all still remember the words to all of the Jungle Book songs (8 months later), the sounds of “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” and “Hi Ho the Wicked Witch is Dead” and “The Jitterbug” ring throughout the house these days. Opening night is just 2 weeks away and while I’m nervous, the boys are calm. They look forward each week to seeing some of their old SENSE buddies like Chris & Turner who volunteer their time each week despite not actually being in the cast and seeing the new SENSE buddies from Magic Circle Theatre. With the help of a number of dedicated volunteers who during the day are professionals in the world of scientific research of autism, ABA specialists, students and medical practitioners; we have seen significant growth in all 15 SENSE participants. They are all working hard along side a cast of approximately 25 neurotypical cast members and each holding their own too.

For my husband & I, this time we have seen growth we could not have predicted in Devan & Ethan. Instead of working with them on stage, physically prompting them to do the moves and making sure they don’t spontaneously sprint offstage, we get to sit in the theatre house seats and watch as they rehearse on stage. Now that is progress and tremendous success. The boys ABA tutors and even their teachers at school have all said what an amazing transition the boys have made since participating in SENSE Theatre. More than anything I’ve seen their social exchanges increase and improve; making friends in school, even public outings to restaurants, stores and such have been successful when they were nearly impossible before.

Anything worth doing is usually hard work

The success of SENSE Theatre comes from a number of parts all working together. One part is the kindness of the SENSE buddies and their unwavering regard for Devan & Ethan and all of the SENSE participants. The SENSE buddies are remarkable young women & men and have given so much back to the autism community. SENSE Theatre changed an important part of our lives and our outlook on the future. The experience and the people involved moved us all and have clearly touched our sons. I know they’ll never forget the friends they’ve made and we’ll never forget what SENSE Theatre has given our children and the community.

Another part is the amazing brain & heart behind SENSE Theatre, Dr. Corbett. We respect & appreciate Dr. Corbett’s vision for SENSE Theatre, but it is not only her vision, it is her passion about this project and her love of the kids. With every struggle, she was there with a strategy and a path to success. We really feel that we’ve come out on the other side of this epic mission and our children are changed forever because of Dr. Corbett’s gift of SENSE Theatre. We (the parents) have changed too; Dr. Corbett’s helped to unlock the dreams we’d once packed away with the boys’ diagnosis 4 years ago. She’s inspired us all to simply expect great things; something most parents take for granted, but we cherish the opportunity each day.

The tagline for SENSE Theatre is: A stage of hope for children with autism – for us, it is as if the words were lifted off the page, put into action and made a reality. As parents learning through this experience we’ve been able to allow our Hope to grow and see that with patience, kindness, respectful encouragement and understanding, children like Devan & Ethan fit just perfectly into this world. Thank your SENSE Theatre; we’ll always remember this experience with great affection and warm memories.

A grateful mom,

Kristen Byrne

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About SENSE Theatre

SENSE Theatre - in collaboration with Magic Circle in Roseville, California - are now off to see the Wizard in their new musical production of Wizard of Oz. SENSE Theatre is a unique theatrical intervention research program designed to improve the social and emotional functioning of children with autism and related neurodevelopment disorders.

As Dorothy might say, there’s no place like SENSE Theatre to provide a home to children with autism spectrum disorders. However, this is no ordinary trip down the yellow brick road – this truly is a magical experience for children with autism. SENSE Theatre has partnered with Magic Circle Theatre, to put 15 children with autism spectrum disorders on the stage with 30 youth actors from the Master Class production who serve as peer models and fellow cast members.

Founder, Blythe Corbett, Ph.D. exclaims “We are grateful for the support of Magic Circle who is providing the stage, production costs and hospitality to bring the mission of SENSE Theatre center stage, which we hope to be the first of many collaborative productions.” In her “day job” - Corbett, is an associate professor at the University of California, Davis M.I.N.D. (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute. Along with the SENSE lab – her team aims to show how art and science can merge to create an ideal environment to learn how to communicate, socialize and express themselves. SENSE Theatre truly is a stage of hope.”

While the Tinman is in search of his heart, the participants of SENSE Theatre can easily find an abundance of it through the valiant efforts of this unique non-profit intervention program that utilizes professional volunteers and peer models to train and support the children with autism to better interact and adapt to the world through theatre. There truly is no place like SENSE Theatre to provide a home to children with autism.

The Wizard of Oz will premier March 5th and 6th at 7:30 pm and March 7th at 2:30 pm for their closing matinee performance at Magic Circle Theatre, 241 Vernon Street in Roseville.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.mcircle.org/shows/wizard_of_oz_sens/index.html

For more information please visit www.sensetheatre.com

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

SENSE Theatre, Makes Sense To Me

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Our Wizard Of Oz SENSE Theatre T-Shirts

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Magic of Theatre & Autism

About SENSE Theatre

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