While sold-out shows are not unusual for Kelsey Theater, it is rare to have a reprisal of an original music less than a year after its premiere. “Through Our Eyes” is the culmination of a show written, composed, and directed by Alan Rosen, a performing arts teacher at the Mercer County Special Services School District’s Junior and Senior High School. The latest version includes 60 actors of all abilities, ranging in age from 12 to 65, telling their stories through a series of vignettes and songs, as well as a variety segment that highlights individual actors’ unique talents. Performances are Friday to Sunday, September 14 to 16..##M:[more]##
“The show promotes tolerance and humanity and working together,” says Rosen. “We want to increase the public’s awareness of the needs and abilities of these special individuals. People will discover how special needs individuals see the world and come away with a sense that these actors are sharing their lives right on stage.”
Rosen notes that the show will change the public’s perspective. Following the performance in December of 2006, he received phone calls, letters, and E-mails, especially from schools and youth organizations who wanted his group to visit their sites. He is currently developing an educational curriculum that he can take on the road for teachers and young people. Proceeds from “Through Our Eyes” will raise funds for the creation of centers for special needs individuals to work and socialize.
One of the actors is Mollie Rubenstein, a sixth grade student at Community Middle School. She learned about auditions and a need for a teenager for the show via Kelsey Theater’s audition E-mail list. Mollie, 11, “looks older, so she E-mailed Alan Rosen and told him that she had a special needs sister and really wanted to be a part of what he was doing,” says her mother, Lisa Rubenstein. “He told her to come in for the audition.”
Mollie, who has lived in West Windsor all her life, has been studying and practicing theater, music, and dance since early childhood. “This original musical is about special needs awareness and has added importance to us as our younger daughter is a special needs child,” says Lisa.
Mollie was in Beth Chaim’s production of “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat,” and the children’s dance captain in Mighty Oak Players’ production of “Gypsy.” She has also studied at Peddie School’s theater camp and Kelsey Theater’s master class in theater.
She has sung with the Beth Chaim Junior Choir since third grade and has been in the choir at Hawk and Millstone River schools. With an in folk music, Mollie has been playing the guitar since first grade. She was also one of the winners of the Millstone River fifth grade lip sync contest last spring.
She began dancing when she was 2 1/2 and takes lessons at Dance Corner. She is beginning her fifth year on Dance Corner’s Elite tap and jazz teams and her second year on the Elite ballet team. Mollie is an original member of both teams. She also dances with the West Windsor- Plainsboro Dance Company and has been in nine of their productions.
Mollie has volunteered in Millstone River School’s multiple disability class during the past two years. “She enjoys helping the kids and has become an advocate for them,” says her mother. Mollie also participated in the Great American Bake Sale at Millstone River’s back-to-school ice cream social this past week. Proceeds benefit hungry kids in America.
“Her love for theater and music and dance is matched by her love for animals,” says her mother. The family has a dog, three guinea pigs, and many fish. “Mollie has a guppy breeding business, Go Fish Go, which she’s been running since first grade,” she says.
Her father, Mitch, is an attorney. He is senior counsel for New York State United Teachers and an adjunct law professor at St John’s Law School and New York Law School. He is also the editor of the Adjunct Law Prof Blog, a member of the Law Professor Blogs Network.
Lisa, who has a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services and physiology from Boston University, and a physician’s assistant degree from Penn State Medical School, did her surgical residency at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She also had a colorectal fellowship from Jefferson Hospital and was practicing surgery there until Mollie was born.
She planned to stay home for a few years. Then her second daughter, Linda, was born with Joubert’s Syndrome, a rare genetic recessive condition that causes balance, coordination, and visual issues, decreased muscle tone, and cognitive deficits. Linda, now 9, requires help with most daily living skills. Although she became an independent walker at 7 1/2, she is just beginning to speak with the help of PROMPTS, a type of speech therapy. Lisa is working on her master’s degree on-line in speech pathology at Nova Southeastern University.
“Mollie has had an integral part in the raising of Linda,” says Lisa. “She works on her academics with her, she’s learned PROMPT speech therapy, is her best friend, and has developed compassion and understanding way beyond her years.”
Kelsey Theatre is wheelchair accessible and provides assisted listening devices upon request. Dates and show times for “Through Our Eyes” are Friday and Saturday, September 14 and 15, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, September 16 at 2 p.m. The performance on September 14 will be sign language interpreted.
To donate, sponsor, or to learn more about volunteer opportunities, contact Alan Rosen at 609-689-0136, ext. 119, or E-mail arosen@throughoureyescs.org.
— Lynn Miller
Through Our Eyes, Kelsey Theater, Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, 609-570-3333. www.kelseytheatre.net Original musical to benefit special needs individuals includes 60 actors ranging in age from 12 to 65. Written, composed, and directed by Alan Rosen, cast members tell their stories through a series of vignettes and songs. A performing arts teacher at Mercer County Special Services school, he is developing a curriculum for young people. $25 and $35. Friday and Saturday, September 14 and 15, 8 p.m.; Sunday, September 16, 2 p.m.
