Melody Brings her Talents to all Aspects of Theatre Adventure
Theatre Adventure is a non-profit organization in West Brattleboro offering year-round theater arts programming for youth and adults with a burning desire to perform. Many of the Theatre Adventure actors have developmental differences or physical challenges. Most importantly, all troupe members bring a breadth of talent and abilities to the stage.
Melody Squires is an actor in the Thursday Troupe. She has two types of Cerebral Palsy and uses a wheelchair for mobility, and assistive technology for communication. Melody joined Theatre Adventure in 2016. When asked about her original impressions upon becoming a part of her troupe Melody stated:
The Theatre Adventure teachers, Laura and Darlene, welcomed me with open arms and never thought that I was weird. I have a really bad speech problem and I was more scared and very nervous about that. What if people laugh at me? Or, what if nobody listens to me? These thoughts were going around in my mind, but after I was in Theatre Adventure for about two weeks, those thoughts vanished and acceptance came into my mind! I thought, oh my God, I literally have somewhere to go and be myself, where people want to listen to me and won’t laugh at me!
Melody has been in eight performances. She says her favorite play so far has been Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Melody played Nick Bottom. She loved playing this character because she loves to kid around and play tricks on people. In Melody’s words “That’s right up my ally. I love playing jokes on everyone!”
When Melody is not in theater class she is painting! Because of her Cerebral Palsy, Melody needed to be quite inventive in order to use a paintbrush. The solution was to create a helmet with a headstick that holds the paintbrush. It is quite amazing to watch Melody’s proficiency as a painter!
Painting by Melody Squires
Melody takes classes at the River Gallery School of Art in Brattleboro and had her first art show in March of 2018. Melody is deeply appreciative of the guidance she receives from her painting teacher Ross Smart. When asked about her first art show Melody had this to say: “So many people came to see my art. I am surprised because I never thought that I could be a painter. Seeing my art show made me realize that I can do this even though I have physical disabilities. All my life, I thought that being an artist meant that you have to have everything working, but now I see that is not true.”
With the help of a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts Melody was hired by Theatre Adventure to be a painting teacher during summer camp in 2019. The students were studying “Charlotte’s Web” and Melody based her lessons around themes from the story. She had assistance from Darlene Jenson, Disability Specialist and Co-Director of Theatre Adventure, as well as her own support staff, Ross. Melody states “At first, I was very frustrated because the students were looking at Darlene and Ross as the teachers and not me. I wanted them to know that I was there to be the teacher, even though I am in a wheelchair.”
Melody spoke to the Theatre Adventure Directors about how she could change this dynamic and together they decided to use a skill Melody had learned in theater class, “Call and Response.” The next day Darlene explained to the class that when Melody gave an instruction they were invited to listen and watch and then respond with their own paintbrushes and specific colors and/or shapes on their own papers. Melody added, “It took a while for the students to learn this method, but within a few days, everyone figured it out and everyone was looking at me and connecting with me as their teacher.”
Additionally, some of the NEA grant money was used to purchase adaptive equipment similar to the headset Melody uses so that students could experiment with different physical adaptions to painting.
In November of 2019 the Theatre Adventure Program became its own 501c3 non-profit, Theatre Adventure, Inc., after fifteen years of partnering with the New England Youth Theatre.
A Board of Directors was formed and the founders of Theatre Adventure, Darlene Jenson and Laura Lawson Tucker, asked Melody to join the Board of Directors. Laura states, “We wanted Melody’s voice on the Board. Melody is as a smart, thoughtful, and caring person and an artist. She is also as a person who lives with physical challenges and has her whole life. She is an amazing self-advocate. We thought that the board would be stronger and more honest with a Board member who has all of Melody’s talents as well as the fact that Melody knows from the inside out what it means to live with Cerebral Palsy.”
When asked what her reaction was to being invited to join the Board Melody shared, “I didn’t know what to think, I was dumbfounded! I couldn’t believe that they wanted me to be on the Board. I told them yes right off. Even though I was very, very thrilled to be on the Board, I started thinking to myself, what am I doing? What do I know about being on a Board? There’s a lot to learn, but it is very rewarding!! I just love it!”
Melody said that at first learning about the budget was confusing but she is developing a better understanding of the finances of the organization. Her committee assignments are Marketing and Fundraising. She is excited about helping the public learn more about Theatre Adventure, and of course helping to raise money to fund program costs and student financial aid. Melody is thrilled to be a part of a vibrant new Board of Directors and to learn behind the scenes details that are so important in making the organization successful.
At the end of our interview Melody shared that when she was first introduced to Theatre Adventure she was simply planning on helping a friend with scenery design. At the time she thought to herself that she could never be an actor and perform on stage… “But here I am, I am a student, an art teacher and a Board member! At times, I just cannot believe that I have come this far in theater and I just love every moment of it. I have made a lot of great friends whom I love so much! We are one big happy family!”
~Laura Howe with Melody Squires
May 2020
Thoughts on the Theatre Adventure Program by Jenny Rainville
Jenny Rainville is an Actor AND Teacher/Mentor at Theatre Adventure.
This movie interview was written and presented by Jenny (with support from Cathy and Billie).
Our Summer Program is coming up in June!
Find out more here.
View of Theatre Adventure During COVID-19
As the troupe members arrived at our first online rehearsal, they appeared on their screens with an aura of dignity; they had been called upon during unprecedented circumstances to keep theater rehearsals alive. Their posture and facial expressions demonstrated a clear sense of purpose. They were poised for rehearsal as though they each felt the value of their own presence.
The Theatre Adventure community is one of unconditional peer support; the inclusion in the troupe member's treatment of each other is profound. Their acceptance of each other creates an atmosphere where everyone is seen as a valued community member, emphasized by the call to continue rehearsing, to maintain their connection as a group in such an uncertain time. The supportive environment, where the students see each other for who they are, enables them to thrive amidst the current challenges, delving into this unique theater experience whole heartedly, and with great confidence.
by Julianne Kaplan, Board Member
Theatre Adventure On-Line Summer Seminar 2020
“Making Connections!”
Interactive expressive arts and nature studies
In a nurturing and creative community, Theatre Adventure summer troupe members will experience acting, sound, percussion, movement, stories, poetry, painting, and collage all in response to spending time outside in the natural world.
Our on-line summer program will encourage real connections with each other and real experiences in nature. The summer team will include Theatre Adventure teachers and visiting artists. We will utilize inventive on-line ways to share our explorations with each other.
Join us for three weeks of dynamic and multi-disciplinary theater arts designed for a mixed ages group. Creativity and inspired teamwork will rule in our inclusive and welcoming environment! We will enjoy one another’s artistry and expressions of self.
Dates: June 22– July 10; Monday- Friday
Times: 9:15- 10:30 and 11- noon
Ages: For youth and adults with developmental differences and a burning desire to express self!
Location: ON-LINE sessions (Due to Covid-19)
Tuition: $475
Part-time attendance options are available:
2 days/week (duration of camp): $300;
3 days/week: (duration of camp): $400;
1 week full-time: $300; 2 weeks full-time: $400
SPECIAL ON-LINE EVENT: Shining Stars Café
Thursday July 9 from 1- 3 pm. This optional event is a community open-mic hosted by Theatre Adventure and HCRS.
Registration for the three-week summer program is open now!
~For further information and to register, please contact one of the Directors:
Laura Lawson Tucker
Darlene Jenson
Cultivating and Growing Purpose
Reaching New Dimensions During Covid-19
An unknown entered our lives in March---a pandemic. Since then, we have all been sorting through vast amounts of ever-changing information and working hard to figure out how to navigate these new waters. There has been plenty of confusion for sure. However, at least one thing has been certain in Theatre Adventure. Our students are earnestly expressing that theater gives them purpose.
This raises the idea that creating art plays an essential role in our society. And further, that imaginative and inventive expression helps support a strong and healthy sense of self---especially if it happens in community.
We are grateful for the health of all of our actors. We are thankful for the dedicated work of our social service agencies and their Support Professionals. We appreciate the loving and caring focus of our families and home providers for keeping their households healthy. We tip our hats with admiration to our colleagues who have continued to work with passion and inspiration over the past few months since we moved all of our programming on-line.
The Wednesday Troupe has been rehearsing their production, “Charlotte’s Web”, now rescheduled to May 2021. The Thursday Troupe has been rehearsing their production, “Resilient”, rescheduled to November 2020. These school year troupes will wrap the end of May. Then, we will turn our attentions to our on-line Summer Seminar entitled, “Making Connections: Interactive Expressive Arts and Nature Studies”.
We recognize our primary role now is to keep cultivating and growing purpose for our actors. The heart of Theatre Adventure is beating with a renewed energy. Our belief in the power of the arts to create vibrant and engaged individuals and communities sustains us.
Shakespeare wrote, “If music be the food of love, play on”. In Theatre Adventure we say, “If theater be the food of life, claim the stage!”
We are heading into our fourth week of online classes and rehearsals. Virtual? What we have been experiencing is actually quite real. We are seeing a deepening of relationships and an expansion of learning. We are reaching new dimensions.
Who would have thought a mere five weeks ago that we would be engaging in a whole new language to experience our theater work in brand new ways?
Silver Linings? Yes. Challenges? Sure.
Theater invites improvisation, thinking on one’s feet, thinking outside of the box, welcoming challenges, and accepting all offers.
And we have!
Our students are engaged, expressing self, working in small groups, working in pairs, developing characterization, carrying out homework assignments, identifying backstories for their characters, practicing their lines from their scripts, and more.
Everyone is experiencing in the flesh and in the moment what it means to be resilient! Put simply, our students are demonstrating flexibility and compassion during this Covid-19 period of time.
We live, we learn, we love, we laugh. Yes, together we are stronger…and together we are changed. We are learning to adapt in new ways, we are learning to listen with new ears. We all have something in common that transcends differences in learning and in abilities.
Are we distant from each other? Absolutely NOT!
We are probably closer in some ways with this microscopic view of one another during our online classes. Students and teachers alike are benefitting from the mirroring we are given during our classes. Students are receiving tremendous feedback in seeing their own faces during face warm ups, seeing their own bodies during our Charlotte spider dances, and seeing himself or herself partner with others while leading warm up exercises.
Learning in a new dimension couldn’t be more real. We used to think inclusive theater required thinking beyond ramps. Now we are learning that inclusive theatre is what you do when you are thrown a curve ball such as a pandemic.
Once we decided to move Theatre Adventure online, we knew that we had to ensure that each and every one of our students would have access to getting online as well as have a device of some kind. Everyone needed to be able to connect. After many phone conversations, e-mails and online video practice sessions we achieved 100 percent participation from both of our theater troupes.
Now we are connecting with voice, connecting with eyes, connecting with sound, and connecting with the depth of love for one another that we feel within our community.
Does this new experience replace what we have lost by not being together in person for classes and rehearsals? Absolutely not! However, we have been offered an opportunity to learn in a new dimension…literally.
And learn we are!
Laura Lawson Tucker,
Co-Founder and Co-Director
Thank you everyone for your continued interest and financial support! Tax deductible donations are greatly appreciated during this time of change to help us adapt and persevere.