The Seneca-Cayuga ARC has been involved in performing arts for a while. But until recently, the performers didn't have a home stage of their own.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Cast members of the Seneca-Cayuga ARC and Fingerlakes Artists, Musicians & Entertainers sponsored “Saturday Night Fried” rehearse the sketch “Bad Ballet” at the Center for Creative Expressions on Thursday evening. The comedy will be performed at Cayuga Community College this weekend.
In April, the ARC received funding from the state to open the new Center For Creative Expression. The center, which is affiliated with the organization's FAME program, holds various classes for performance and traditional arts.
The only requirements for participation are to be eligible for Medicaid and be developmentally disabled.
The Center for Creative Expressions will give its first performance this weekend with the collection of musical spoofs called “Saturday Night Fried.”
Pamela Wilson, director of the program and the play, said most of the efforts of the center so far have gone toward the theater arts. So far, that has been the biggest class.
“Most people want to be in a play,” Wilson said.
A collection of comedy skits parodying the popular television show “Saturday Night Live,” the play features 32 FAME actors who have been rehearsing at the center for weeks. The actors dance, sing and deliver wisecracks in about a dozen short numbers.
Audiences will get a taste of the famous Coneheads and Blues Brothers sketches, as well as some original material by Wilson and other Creative Expressions staff. One of the pieces is a touching poem written by one of the cast members.
Along with theater arts, the Center for Creative Expressions offers instruction in dance and rhythm, character development and creative arts. Classes are between 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at the center, which is on Genesee Street across from Wegmans in Auburn.
The center is funded by a five-year grant through the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
It has a stage, lighting and sound - all the amenities of a working studio. It's a nice feather in the cap of the FAME program, which has offered performance opportunities for the ARC consumers for almost 10 years, Wilson said.
“We started with a volunteer staff, and now we have written 12 original plays and performed them since 1999,” she said.
One of the reasons for the show and the other classes in the program, Wilson said, is to offer a supplemental day habilitation service for the participants. But there is another, bigger, reason as well, she said.
“This program is a service to help people reach their individual goals,” Wilson said.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@.lee.net
The only requirements for participation are to be eligible for Medicaid and be developmentally disabled.
The Center for Creative Expressions will give its first performance this weekend with the collection of musical spoofs called “Saturday Night Fried.”
Pamela Wilson, director of the program and the play, said most of the efforts of the center so far have gone toward the theater arts. So far, that has been the biggest class.
“Most people want to be in a play,” Wilson said.
A collection of comedy skits parodying the popular television show “Saturday Night Live,” the play features 32 FAME actors who have been rehearsing at the center for weeks. The actors dance, sing and deliver wisecracks in about a dozen short numbers.
Audiences will get a taste of the famous Coneheads and Blues Brothers sketches, as well as some original material by Wilson and other Creative Expressions staff. One of the pieces is a touching poem written by one of the cast members.
Along with theater arts, the Center for Creative Expressions offers instruction in dance and rhythm, character development and creative arts. Classes are between 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at the center, which is on Genesee Street across from Wegmans in Auburn.
The center is funded by a five-year grant through the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
It has a stage, lighting and sound - all the amenities of a working studio. It's a nice feather in the cap of the FAME program, which has offered performance opportunities for the ARC consumers for almost 10 years, Wilson said.
“We started with a volunteer staff, and now we have written 12 original plays and performed them since 1999,” she said.
One of the reasons for the show and the other classes in the program, Wilson said, is to offer a supplemental day habilitation service for the participants. But there is another, bigger, reason as well, she said.
“This program is a service to help people reach their individual goals,” Wilson said.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@.lee.net
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