Theater group casts light on developmental disabilities

An unusual traveling theater troupe has spent the last week in Kalispell preparing to change attitudes and lives.

"Same Difference: A Developmental Disabilities Awareness Play" features actors from the Same Difference Inclusive Theatre Company as well as about two dozen local actors.

The cast is a mix of developmentally disabled and typically developing members, ages 3 to 52.

The play, written by theater company founder Melissa Ann Hansen of Butte, is made up of a series of short, unrelated scenes dramatizing situations common to the developmentally disabled.

After a week of lengthy rehearsals, it will be performed on Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Kalispell.

"Same Difference" isn't a documentary play, but for those with developmental disabilities, its content is very real.

In a short monologue, a boy describes his life with Asperger's syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder.

A group of parents fear that their disabled children, treated as equals on the T-ball fields, won't receive the same welcome as they try to find their place in the wider world.

A bully knocks a disabled boy to the ground for his lunch, but the victim finds an able ally in his big sister.

Hansen wrote a number of scenes from her 15 years of experience as a social worker working with the developmentally disabled. She added six more scenes when some developmentally disabled people who had seen the play asked her to tell their stories.

"It's really powerful when that happens," Hansen said.

The company is on its first swing through Montana after Hansen first staged "Same Difference" in Butte in March 2004.

In fulfilling the requirements of its grant from the Montana Council on Developmental Disabilities, the company is taking the production to five different areas of the state this summer. Kalispell is the group's fourth stop.

Kalispell's Child Development Center is the main sponsor for the local performances. The center provides support services for children with developmental disabilities and their families.

"We thought it would be a great opportunity to educate the community about disabilities," said Karlyn Gibbs, family support specialist for the center. "Our kids have so few opportunities to participate in the events like this."

Jason Calvert, 21, has seven different roles in the play and is loving every minute he spends with the production.

Gibbs said Calvert, who works at Flathead Industries in Columbia Falls, has long been interested in drama, but as a developmentally disabled man, this is his first chance to be on stage.

None of Carolyn Kohler's three children - Bryce, 16, Evan, 4, and Lauren, 3 - are disabled, but she made sure they were involved.

"I want my kids to be around people with varying abilities, so they'll grow up and be tolerant and compassionate," she said.

Kohler, who works for the Child Development Center, has been impressed with the cooperative spirit of the cast members.

"It's so awesome," she said, to see people of all abilities "working side by side, helping each other out."

There is no admission charge for the two performances of "Same Difference," but donations will be accepted. First Presbyterian is located at 540 S. Main St. in Kalispell.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com