Spotlight Shines on Real Stories in Entertaining Way

This year’s Spotlight Musical Theater production, “I’m on My Way,” got personal while keeping the lighthearted nature that fans have come to expect from Spotlight’s original shows throughout the program’s 15 years.

The musical is ultimately about getting to an event at the Marco Polo Museum, but cast members tell their personal stories of struggles they’ve experienced firsthand.

“It was kind of our first year to have our participants break the fourth wall and really discuss their own personal experiences living with intellectual and physical disabilities,” Cailey Brandon, who is stepping down as Belong Disability Spotlight Academy of the Arts coordinator, said. “And just how people portray them and what their experiences on a mental level are with either having autism or having desires as adults.”

All of it started at one of the first meetings about this year’s show—all the way back in September. One participant, who is in a wheelchair, talked about how she struggles finding accessibility ramps or has other people in her way. Then, another talked about how she was robbed at a DART station and had her medical supplies taken.

“Lisa Schmidt, our director, is really intentional about putting everybody in a circle because there's no hierarchy, there's no rows or anything,” Brandon said. “It's a circle. We all come together as these very equal individuals, and we share our stories. This year, there was a lot of vulnerability, I think, because some people were sharing their vulnerable stories, (and) other people were really leaning into that.”

While similar experiences on DART got the conversation going, it moved on from transportation struggles to personal struggles they deal with in everyday life.

“People don't think people with disabilities can have deep emotions and like trauma from life like typical people can,” new Belong Disability Spotlight Academy of the Arts Coordinator Allison Patrick said. “So it's really cool to see them really express that they are, too, just like us.”

The Spotlight musical has always been about giving a voice and a platform to tell a story. It’s one they come up with and build and mold through the process, from start to finish. This time, that story was truly their own.

“I feel like the cast was just so empowered, and (being) given the confidence and the ability to talk on stage about what they live through every day was just so impactful,” Brandon said. “I've heard from a lot of audience members and people who either had seen all of the Spotlight programs or not ever been to one. I think everybody was like, ‘Wow, this is blown out of the water. It was amazing.’ So that was really special, and I think it was a perfect homage to 15 years and to what the Spotlight ministry is all about.”

The Spotlight program is also about having fun. This year’s show did that too, as the Spotlight actors were able to weave their personal stories and struggles throughout a funny, lighthearted, and sometimes goofy story.

“It was really cool because, of course, we had the silliness and the laughter,” Brandon said. “One participant wanted to be talking in puns. So, Alex is just speaking in puns the entire musical. But it really shows how versatile our participants are and how they are the happy-go-lucky people that most people know people with disabilities are, but that's not just what they are.”

The musical came in the middle of an important 10-day period for the Belong Disability Ministry and Spotlight.

On Feb. 21, the “Into The Spotlight” documentary was released on streaming platforms, this year’s musical “I’m On My Way” took to the stage on Feb. 22 and 23, then on March 2, Belong celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was a great way for people to be able to see behind the scenes of how the 2022 Spotlight musical came together, see this year’s musical, and then experience everything Belong has to offer. But the musical is at the heart of it all.

“I said, ‘This will probably be our biggest impact,’” Patrick said. “‘Our birthday (the) next weekend is great and all, but this right here is going to change lives.’ And they were just so proud. And seeing their excitement and their happiness and their accomplished faces was really, really special to see.”

It is also a time of transition for the Spotlight Ministry. Brandon is stepping away to spend more time with her family. While she intends to come back and volunteer, this year’s musical was her final show as Spotlight coordinator.

“It's really special. I definitely teared up at the end of our finale on our last show, just because it was really an amazing year,” Brandon said. “And over the past four years that I've been with the musical theater program, it was just a really amazing show to kind of just tie a nice ribbon around things. I was really super excited to be a part of it.”

Patrick will now move into the role of Spotlight coordinator. She started as a one-on-one volunteer with a member of the Belong Ministry, then took on more and more responsibilities.

Now Patrick is able to take the next step in her new role.

“It is amazing, I couldn't be more excited to take over these programs,” Patrick said. “I think it's super impactful. All of our programs are, but I think this one gives a voice to people that normally don't get a say. The Musical Theater, Short Film, and Rock Band (programs), they all get a say in what they're doing and how they're doing it. They feel a part of something important. I'm really excited to be a part of that.”