Act I

A lot of people will say their children (weather they be young, teens, or adults) with Down syndrome are natural actors. I am one of those people! Angela was born with a natural ability to imitate people, a quality I have seen in many people with Down syndrome who I have worked with over the years.

About 3 years ago, while my dogs and I were participating in a production of Seussical the Musical, Angela was invited to join SOS Players in Hudson, Wisconsin. What a gift that program was to her! Angela was the only participant among 40 who was disabled. She went on her own, without assistance, and did what everyone else was doing. She met the same expectations as all the other participants. The only thing that was done differently was the monologues. All the end of the year, for the spring showcase, all the participants performed skits and monologues. Angela had a little trouble understanding the concept on a monologue, so we had her do a dialogue with. All of the topics covered social issues, and Angela's was no different. Her's covered a topic that was meaningful to her.

Here is the first dialogue she did the first year she participated in SOS Players. She was 11 years old. (in the beginning section you can pick her out, she's wearing a black Tshirt.) She was VERY nervous, and her voice was a bit shaky in the beginning!


This is her second year. She was 12. (sorry for the person sitting next to me who coughed the entire time!!!)


My purpose of this post is this. All of your children, no matter how many chromosomes they have, will have their own interests. Find what their interests are, and build on them. Maybe it is soccer, or basketball, fencing or pottery. For Angela, she had a strong desire to act. She absolutely thrives on being center stage. She is currently rehearsing for the school play, and will have opening night in a couple of weeks. This is the first time this director has had a student "like Angela" (her words, not mine) in the school play, and I think she's been surprised that Angela is able to keep up. But I'm not. There's no reason to be surprised. Just like the other students who enjoy acting, if it is something they enjoy, they will be able to do it and should be given the opportunity to try.