Ellen Curtis

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ellen-photosOur family has had a 37-year love affair with Young People’s Theatre. First our children and now our grandchildren have experienced the wonder of the productions of this theatre. As parents and grandparents, we have had the added bonus of relishing the productions ourselves and delighting in the children’s excitement as they watch and enjoy the magic. We all have our favourites, but one that will always hold a special place in our hearts is The Miracle Worker starring Hollis Mclaren.

One summer in the late seventies, our 8-year old daughter was enrolled in the YPT Drama School. One day, we got a call from the theatre asking us if she would be interested in a role in their upcoming production of The Miracle Worker. They explained that they had cast some children who were deaf or visually impaired, but one of the children needed to be replaced. Our daughter would have to play the part as if she were blind and deaf.

Aside from their roles as students at the Perkins School for the Blind, the children were expected to act as “stage hands” to move furniture and props on and off the stage. For Laura, it meant learning how to act as if she couldn’t see. During the rehearsals, she became friends with the children, quickly learning some sign language so she could communicate with the deaf children.

This turned out to be an extraordinary experience for Laura and for the whole family. Laura had the unique opportunity to perform with a professional theatre company. With 8 performances each week for 6 weeks or so, it was a major commitment. Her school was supportive but stressed that she would have to keep up with her work. We had to bring her back and forth to the theatre and sit through long hours of rehearsals. Watching the play come together, especially with the unique concept of using the children to move items around the stage was fascinating, but also frustrating. The children were not seasoned performers, and they sometimes struggled with the demands of the play. Laura took her part very seriously; she found it difficult when she or the others had a hard time, and she was triumphant when she and they earned the director’s praise.

The members of our family have never again had the chance to be insiders in the theatre; nonetheless, we have continued to enjoy our participation in the audience. The closest we came to another family member being in a play was when Laura’s son, Justin, at age 9, raised his hand at the fund-raiser to bid $2,000 for a walk-on part in A Year with Frog and Toad. We grabbed his arm, and he had to settle for a front-row seat.

Ellen Curtis