Students express their personal disability experiences.
Students at the Henry Viscardi School at The Viscardi Center, along with those in the Center’s Youth Transition program, participated in a VSA playwright program throughout the 2016-2017 school year thanks to a contract with the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.
Program participants were encouraged to share their personal disability experiences through written plays and theater arts. Utilizing his experience of incorporating playwriting into his Henry Viscardi School high school English classes, program instructor, Shaun Cardenas, worked closely with and inspired students to collaboratively write plays illustrating challenges overcome while living with a disability. Throughout the course of the program, students worked with different genres of the Literary Arts including: poetry, storytelling, creative writing, performance, sketches, and more. Participants were also able to interact in small peer group discussions and offer partner critiques to learn the concept of constructive criticism and how it plays a vital part in the development of a script.
This program was truly a hit with participants of all ages and disabilities as it offered educational, recreational, social, and therapeutic benefits, with the ultimate accomplishment of writing their very own script. We are thrilled to have been awarded such a prestigious contract that allowed our students and participants to experience the arts.
About The Viscardi Center
Founded by Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., who served as disability advisor to eight U.S. Presidents and became one of the world’s leading advocates, The Viscardi Center educates, employs and empowers people with disabilities. It provides Kindergarten through High School education (up to age 21), school-to-work youth transition services, vocational training, career counseling and employment placement, assistive technology, and adapted driver education to children, adolescents and adults with a wide variety of disabilities. The Center also assists businesses in diversifying their workforces, as well as developing and advancing disability inclusive cultures in their workplaces.