Christine Whelan FEO, April 13, 2023, VOL. 4 ISSUE 17
TASC Niagara is preparing for its 15th Dinner Theatre production, hosted by the Ridgeway Lions Community Centre.
Therapy and Alternatives for Special Children and Adults, established in 1998, is a local program that offers music, drama, and social interaction for people with disabilities and their families.
Walter Deveau, Vice President of TASC, got involved with the non-profit organization in 2007 after experiencing a life-altering accident that left him not knowing who he was or where he was for half a year. He was not able to go back to his regular job.
“I started working with people with disabilities because it was one-on-one. When I was in a group setting, I wasn’t able to cope properly after my injuries,” Walter shared.
“I got involved with Nathan and Nancy Kacur, who were a part of TASC. It was ready to close because there was no program for us to run and no place for us to run it. I helped develop it into a music and drama program.”
They have performed 14 productions so far. “We’ve done everything from Joseph and the Technicolour Dream Coat to Mama Mia and Rock of Ages. Now we’re doing the Wizard of Oz.”
Most of the actors on the regular basis are between 16 and 90 years old.
“Mama Mia took us a year. It took three years, because of the pandemic, for Rock of Ages.
We worked for over a year on Spamalot,” a musical based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “That’s a lot of dedication from the cast and the volunteers. We modify the dialogue to meet their needs.”
The Wizard of Oz is the fastest production we’ve ever done because most of the actors had watched the movie and knew the story.” It was an easier learning curve.
Julia, his daughter, is one of the directors this year. She has modified each script.
“My three daughters grew up participating in the program as support for the members. My oldest is now a child psychologist, my middle daughter is just finishing up nursing and my youngest is an EA for the school board.” His wife used to be an ECE teacher as well.
The TASC Experience
Walter shared a few highlights from past productions.
He began, “We have some people who come and just want to pull the curtains. One girl came in one day and said just that. ‘
“So, she watched the acts and waited. The next week, somebody was sick and wasn’t able to come back to finish the play. I asked the girl if she wouldn’t mind filling in for just this night.” He described her real reluctance, however, his encouragement won out.
“And she became the star of the show.”
He reminisced about another girl, Loretta, who was in the program for seven years. No one had ever heard her sing. She just stood there.
One year, “All of a sudden, I heard this voice in the background. I wondered, who is singing that? All this girl had ever done while in the program was push wheelchairs around. She put people on and off stage. After hearing her, I brought her out on stage and she ended up belting out the song from Titanic.
“It was amazing because it was the first time her mother had ever heard her sing as well. We had people in the audience crying.”
Walter says they consider everybody in the group family. “They’re coming from Port Colborne, Niagara Falls and as far away as Grimsby.
They often take creative liberty. “Last year, one of the actresses — she is so deadpan, it’s hilarious — was supposed to act setting a person on fire in the play Rock of Ages but then, all of a sudden, with a ‘stop, drop and roll’, she fell on the floor and started rolling, so we put that into the show.”
We roll with what abilities the actors have. “We had a gentleman who couldn’t move at all, except he would smile and laugh and maybe we’d get some sounds out of him. He was afraid of everything. We were doing Michael Jackson’s Thriller. We were trying to figure out what we could get him to do. I said, let’s put him in a coffin.
“I told his grandmother that we’re going to put a mask on him. She said, ‘You’re not going to get him to wear a mask.’ At first, he looked as if he was afraid. So, I put the mask on myself, took it off, and showed it to him again. He smiled, and I put it on his face.”
Walter continued with delight, “So, he was laying in the coffin and Loretta, the girl who had sung Titanic, her whole job was to tilt his chair a little bit so that his head came out of the coffin and back down during the show. So, it looked like, during Thriller, he’s coming out of the grave. “
Deveau shared another memory involving a skit from the movie, ET and Nathan, who is quadriplegic.
“I modified my bicycle, mounting Nathan’s chair to the front of it. We made a ramp and a giant moon. He held his index finger up as ET did. I drove my bicycle across the stage with him in the front and it looked like he was flying over the moon. It’s things like that, we modify.”
Wizard of Oz
During the discussion to develop the production of The Wizard of Oz, they brainstormed how to pull off a tornado. Should they get a couple of fans? Walter declared, ” No, I’m going to actually build a tornado.”
He explained, “It’s almost like a giant carousel that’s going to drop out of the ceiling and spin with all kinds of pots, pans, a cow, and a bunch of stuff flying around Dorothy’s house with Dorothy in the middle.”
Walter added, “That’s where life becomes fun. To see the changes and the joy on their faces.”
The Wizard of Oz will be performed on April 21, 22, 28, and 29. Tickets are $40/person, which includes dinner.
The four dates are just about sold out. “We work for a year on a production, and then in two nights, it’s done. So, we went for four nights. With Mama Mia, we packed every night.”
He added, “We’re looking to add a possible end-of-September performance, for two dates.
Left of Central
Left of Central, located at 206 Jarvis Street, is a board game cafe to the public, owned and operated by Deveau, “And is a place we created as sort of an added part of TASC. It allows some of them to come in and learn life skills — how to cook, how to clean, and how to serve people. It also provides the opportunity to be comfortable if they come in to play games.”
Walter described Left of Central as a home-like space. “It’s like walking into your rec room. It’s designed that way,” with a 30-foot mural painted on one wall and another section that looks like an old English phone booth, “But it’s where you go into the bathroom.”
Funding and Need For Sponsors
“Since the program started in 1998, we haven’t had one paid employee. And with our program, it’s all just funded by sponsors and the productions we do.”
Walter said they are looking for sponsors.
Volunteers
TASC has 25 volunteers. Deveau explained, “A lot of our volunteers have been with us for 10-12 years. The volunteers put heart into everything they do. They don’t look at it as volunteering so much as they look at it as a part of their life.”
There is a focus on everybody’s abilities. “We all work together to brainstorm ways to get everyone involved. We work to get the play to meet their needs. This makes the actors feel at home. And it’s that home feeling we are looking for.”
TASC has a Board of Directors. Nancy Kacur is President, Deveau is VP, and three directors are parents.
“Our parents get involved as well. They paint and help out with whatever is needed. And then we have people who have no connection to anybody and they’re there putting in 10-12 hours a week.”
TASC meets every Tuesday evening.
Walter also operates two businesses at 967 Helena Street in Fort Erie, Tech Service Niagara (TSN) and Flexstone Ontario. “I just opened up a full-service print shop and office supply warehouse. I have over 10,000 square feet but 5,000 is dedicated to office and business supplies.”
Flexstone Ontario installs waterproof walking surfaces, garage floors, flat roofs, railing systems, and waterproof decks.
To stay updated with TASC activities and events, you can follow them on Facebook by searching TASC Niagara.
Photo provided by Walter Deveau
