Shane Parker sat quietly in the back row and watched his son perform.
“William has always had an affinity for the stage,” said Shane. “It gives him something to look forward to.”
William is part of a new partnership between the Patel Conservatory and Pepin Academy, a school for kids with special needs. William has selective mutism and doesn’t speak often.
That is, unless he’s on stage.
“He’s able to open up and express himself,” said William’s Broadway Buddies instructor, Matt Belopavlovich. “That’s one of the neat things about theater and this program. I hope that it continues to get bigger.”
Broadway Buddies is new this year. The Straz Center website describes it as a program for kids between 10 to 13. It pairs home-schooled students with students in Pepin Academy’s middle school theater class as they attend numerous performances together.
For Pepin Academies students, this class is the second part of an outreach. In the first, these students focus on the application of social skills and audience etiquette through theater-based activities. The "Broadway Buddies" course culminates in the development of a social story video that will be shared with Straz Center audiences.
Classes are held Tuesdays from 9 to 11:45 a.m.
It really brought William out of his shell.
“One on one, he may not always be the most talkative person, but when you put him in front of his peers and an audience, he finds maybe a calling,” said Shane. “That’s why things like this are important because he seems to overcome that.”
William is currently working on a role in an upcoming performance of "The Little Mermaid."
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