About half of the cast are in the special education program. The rest are student mentors who back them up onstage.
The cast of Southwest ISD’s production of the musical “Annie Jr.” gathers in a huddle before the show’s dress rehearsal Tuesday. Half of them are kids from across the district who are in special education, the other half act as their mentors.Days before Friday’s opening night and just before Act 2, the half-costumed characters at the Southwest High School auditorium went into an onstage huddle, sitting still but fidgeting with a mix of excitement and nerves.
. The 20-year-old nonprofit uses theater to demonstrate that “the special challenges of a disability should not handicap a child’s ability to participate in life’s experiences,” according to its website. The district first heard about The Penguin Project from a board member who saw a conference presentation about Corsicana ISD’s experience with it last year, said Albrey Hogan, who directs the Southwest ISD special education program, which serves 2,400 students. Hogan went to Corsicana to see for herself.
Sammy plays Drake, the butler, with a certain flair, handing letters and glasses of faux Champagne to Daddy Warbucks and other characters. He’s been in other shows, including Southwest’s summer fine arts academy production of “Shrek,” but hasn’t worked with this diversity of cast before.“You get to dress,” Sammy said, playfully gesturing to his crisp tailed coat, white ruffled button-up, black pleated dress pants and fresh Nikes. If he could wear it in class, he would.
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