New troupe
Unified Theater organization brings together students with and without disabilities
12:50 p.m., April 27, 2015--Unified Theater, a new registered student organization at the University of Delaware, held its first major event on Wednesday evening, April 29, a play written entirely by students.
Unified Theater is a national organization that brings students with and without disabilities together to create great performances as equals.
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Although Unified Theater mostly works with high school students, UD is one of the first universities to have a chapter of the organization on campus.
“Unified Theater has never had any performances at colleges before, so we’re essentially the trial group. But we’re more than excited to be able to do this,” says Beth Lippman.
Lippman, a sophomore pre-veterinary medicine major, serves as a co-president of UD’s chapter of Unified Theater. She previously participated with Unified Theater at her high school, and she thought that it would be a great concept to bring to UD.
Rebecca Jewell, a sophomore human services major who is also pursuing a minor in disabilities studies, also serves as a co-president of Unified Theater. When Lippman pitched the idea to her last year, Jewell was enthusiastic about it. “As soon as I heard about Unified Theater, I thought it would be a really awesome way to get involved and to interact students of every background,” she says.
UD students are active in the organization alongside students who are part of the Career and Life Studies Certificate program (CLSC) through the University’s Center for Disabilities Studies.
After officially becoming a registered student organization last spring and recruiting interested students, the newly formed chapter of Unified Theater spent the past fall semester writing a script in a collaborative effort, while also working on small performance exercises.
“In order to help members feel comfortable with performing, we play improv games and perform small skits for the group,” says Jewell.
Lippman adds that the UD chapter is the smallest Unified Theater group she has worked with, but that it works out favorably. “It just means that we get to spend more time with each person. This works great for encouraging every student to come out of their shell, and it results in great contributions from everyone,” she says.
Jewell and Lippman both describe the national Unified Theater organization as helpful in terms of bringing the organization to campus as well as assisting with the organization’s national guidelines.
Unified Theater’s first performance on campus was held in the Trabant University Center Theatre. The performance, described by the co-presidents as “Cartoons Go to College,” featured a few songs and some choreography throughout the student-produced script.
For more information about the national Unified Theater organization, visit the website.
Article by Craig Stack
Photos by Tyler Jacobson