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It's only nine days before opening night, and the cast of "It's a Wonderful Pie!" is focusing on one of those big numbers that brings the show together. In the scene, residents of tiny Joycie Hollow, Ala. are piecing together a song to express their love for the town's amazing pie. Soon, there's a chorus and everyone sings.
"Joycie Hollow pie, Joycie Hollow pie. It's the best you've tasted, and that ain't no lie."
Suddenly, the actors pause, and a young woman with freckles breaks into an Irish step dance. Then a man, older and balding, matches her with tap shoes. The whole moment could have been lifted from any community theater production. It's typical, really — except that the tap dancer is blind and most of the cast has some physical or cognitive disability.
Together, they're one of two Gaithersburg Inclusive Theatre Companies; a pair of other groups in Arlington and Silver Spring perform on a rotating schedule. The companies are cornerstones of ArtStream, a Bethesda-based nonprofit that brings the arts to underserved communities. Members pay a small tuition fee and complete the entire production process.
"Auditions are a formality," says ArtStream co-founder Sally Kinka. "We think it's important for them to know what it's like to go onstage and perform something they've worked on by themselves in front of an audience."
Once the company is established, the actors, with the guidance of a "script crafter," put together a story and original songs through a series of improvisational games. "Pie!" crafter Nicolette Stearns likes to play an Oprah-type character that invites actors to discover their characters in a talk show format. The crafter, who also serves as director, then formats dialogue into a cohesive story. Stearns calls the program drama therapy, a tool that is popular in Europe and Canada, but only recently has caught on in the U.S.
"They are so exuberant in their performances," Kinka says. "It's a chance for them to really show their talents off to the general public."
The part of the cast that's not disabled is made up of high school and college students interested in theater or psychology. Not only do these "mentors" help guide the actors and cover forgotten lines; they also create characters. In "It's a Wonderful Pie!" two waitresses are members of the company and two are mentors.
"We really enjoy working with high school age and college kids," Stearns says. "I think it sends a really a good message that adults with disabilities can sing and dance just like they can."
Mike Hovde, a towering 21-year-old who studies history at Towson University, has been working with Stearns since the plays were part of a class at Imagination Stage seven years ago.
"I love performing and I love seeing other people perform," he says. "It's something I never want to lose in my life. For me, it's sort of therapeutic. I think that's why most people here do it."
Company members deal with a variety of disabilities, ranging from autism to Down syndrome to physical impairments. Some require constant supervision from a parent or counselor. Others, like Lindsay Howard, are more high-functioning. The 38-year-old works at a day care center and is the only member of the company who drives. During a break, Howard slips out of the Casey Community Center's nursery yellow rehearsal room at to discuss the show.
"I play a waitress named Stacey Moonbucks," she says. "I like to sing and dance … The hardest part is memorizing lines."
In the play, pie shop employees receive a letter from Rand McNally explaining that the town is too small to put on the map. Desperate for notoriety, they work together to share Joycie Hollow pies with the world. Not every character involved in the effort is original. Liz Golder-Wallace, a cast member with Down syndrome, will appear as Trudy (Tootie) from the TV series "The Facts of Life."
"I love the play because I'm in it a lot," she confesses. "I love acting. It's my favorite thing I do. It's my hobby."
This season, the third for the Gaithersburg companies, involves a change in venue.
"We've had packed houses for the majority of our shows at the Arts Barn, and I think we'll be able fill up BlackRock," Hovde says.
The pressure of filling seats won't fall solely on the shoulders of the "Pie!" cast. Across the hall, the other Gaithersburg company is rehearsing "A Mystery to Me," a play in which the characters must solve a series of murders. Kinka, who lives in Gaithersburg, is in charge of the production. Even though "Mean Sally" occasionally brings down the hammer, the entire experience is worth the hefty time commitment.
"Even the rehearsals are fun because the participants are so wonderful," Kinka says. "They just love life and they love doing this."
Friends and families make up most of the audience, but performances are open to the public. Kinka says that those not involved in the actors' lives are often impressed.
"Sometimes the [audience] is surprised because they don't know anyone with a disability and their perception is changed dramatically."
Ultimately, the productions go deeper than funny dialogue and singalongs.
"The final show is always a huge tearjerker because this has been a real journey for them," Stearns says. "We're a very small part of these people's lives, but we're a very bright part."
The Gaithersburg Inclusive Theatre Companies will perform "It's a Wonderful Pie!" and "A Mystery to Me" at BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown. The curtain will rise at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for ArtStream actors and those 18 and younger. Call 301-941-1008 or visit art-stream.org.
