FREDERICKSBURG, VA—Step VA Inc., a local 501(c)3 nonprofit, works for the community, serving individuals with disabilities and their families. The organization empowers people with disabilities and their families through creative expression and sensory exploration, and this spring will be staging the musical Suessical Jr., suitable for all ages. Performances will be April 13th and April 14th, at Courtland High School.
The show was chosen very deliberately to support a full cast actors and four backstage crew members, all with various disabilities.
Director Erin Bradley explained, “A group of participants submitted choices they thought would be potentially good options for this year’s show. From there the artist team considered all submitted ideas and picked the one we thought could grow to fit all of the actors that auditioned and show the inclusive and fun spirit of StepVA, Suessical Jr.”
The inclusivity extends to the stage crew, which included some of actors on a part-time basis. That team was hands-on, from building parts of the set and helping design costumes for the cast and helping to take headshots, of which there were many. Now in its fourth year of spring musicals, Seussical Jr. is the third licensed musical the organization has chosen to perform and every year the cast has grown in number. This year’s cast is about 40 members strong.
“Casting for Seussical Jr. began at auditions, where the artistic team was able to see all the talent that was interested perform character monologues, sing, and learn a dance combination,” Bradley said, sharing the organization's casting process. “This is what the artistic team used to help piece together the cast and see what character best fit what performer, we always want to showcase all the great performers that make up our cast. When picking the cast we looked at the full picture and the individual character. This musical has a lot of different parts and every role is important.”
STEP VA participants are excited to invite everyone who will be watching the performance to get pumped up for the energy of happy noises of the play.
Ticket sales will begin later this month. For more information or to donate, visit www.stepva.org.
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STEP VA, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides sensory-based theater and arts programs for individuals with disabilities. Its vision is to transform the world by offering each individual the opportunity to flourish in the community.