MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you love theater, you know nothing beats taking a bow on stage to the roar of applause. A new production is making sure all children who want that experience can have it. It's a story about how you can't underestimate anybody.
If anyone is ready for that spotlight, it's nine-year-old Ace Tarpley.
"Yes, actually," he said with a toothy grin.
In an upcoming production of "Peter Pan," mom Mandy Tarpley tells us Ace is playing exactly the role he wants.
"The crocodile! He is so excited," she laughed.
"I like it 'cause it's a crocodile. Rawr!" added Ace. "They're meat eaters! I just gotta get on all fours and just go around."
Now, doesn't Captain Hook lose a hand to the crocodile?
"Yeah, cause Tick-Tock Croc ate it!" Ace excitedly chimed in.
"Ace has spina bifida and hydrocephalus," Mandy explained.
"We have several kids who come in with cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism, severe ADHD," said Jamie Storvik.
Jamie has just brought a chapter of the Penguin Project national program to Middle Tennessee. In it, actors of all abilities are paired with volunteer peer mentors who help with this and that.
"Singing and dancing!" said Ace.
"The Penguin Project is for youth with special needs to get to experience theater," Jamie continued. "They get to be the stars of their own show. They're not in the background. They get costumes."
"There's gonna be scales all over it and claws!" said Ace.
Jayla Peebles, who is also in the show, said the production's not ready to go to stage yet.
"We'll be too nervous!" she laughed.
It's going to take some more months of rehearsal to get ready for a January opening at Murfreesboro's Mills-Pate Arts Center.
"It's a lot to memorize," Jayla added. "We gotta keep practicing."
"I had a mother tell me, you have changed their lives," Jamie said. "Just seeing the joy on their faces, it is so exciting, and you never underestimate these kids. They can do anything."
"I think every kid should feel included," said Mandy. "We all want to feel part of something."
Ace asked to say something to help get people to see the show.
"You are the best people in the world, and that goes to everyone out there," he said with a beaming smile.
Jamie's chapter of the Penguin Project is taking new participants until mid-November. She can be reached at jmstorvik@mltarts.com.
