Inspired by her brother, Woodbridge woman creates inclusive theater

Eva, 24, and Michael, 22, grew up in
Woodbridge. Michael, who has Down syndrome, always loved to watch musicals.
“He’s watched the same ones his entire life, over and over and over,” said Eva.
“He can perform all of them for anybody who cares to watch.”

As they grew up, Eva was saddened to
think that her extroverted brother wouldn’t get to have a normal high school
experience. “I went to Woodbridge High School and I had a great time there, but
I remember the special education,” said Eva. “I remember going home the first
day of school and telling my mom, ‘You can’t send Michael here. You just can’t
do it.’ ”

So her parents decided to enroll Michael
in the Options program at Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in
Potomac Shores. One day, Eva picked him up from school. “I sat in the lobby and
he came down the hallway with just an entourage of guys and everyone’s going,
‘Hey Michael, what’s up?’ I almost started crying because I couldn’t believe
that he was finally getting what I wanted him to get, that it was possible,”
said Eva. 

Though she wasn’t raised Catholic, the
experience prompted Eva to explore the faith. “Michael had been having such a
good time at John Paul that I started to look further into that,” she said. “I
was so grateful that was the community that had given him those opportunities.”
She went through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults her junior year at
the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg and was baptized and
confirmed by Father Christopher T. Vaccaro, chaplain. 

Michael had “the time of his life those
four years” at John Paul the Great, said Eva, but after he graduated, a lot of
the opportunities he had, like the ability to be involved in theater, were
gone. She remembers one Christmas after he graduated, she took him to see a
filmed version of the Broadway musical “Newsies.” He had a great time at the
movies, but later that night she found him crying. “I asked him why and the
gist of it was that he was never going to be on Broadway. He couldn’t do that,”
she said. “And I said, alright I’ll make something for you.”

Rehearsal

Creating Heart House was more difficult
than she anticipated, but friends, family and total strangers were willing to
help along the way. She first formed a non-profit and then a board for the
organization, which consisted of “pretty much myself, my two friends and my
mom,” said Eva. 

Her godfather, John Maher, has a son
with disabilities and is involved in theater, so she asked him to attend a
meeting. “He suggested doing this show and he said, ‘Well, I guess if you do
this show, I’d be willing to direct it,’ ” said Eva. “I said, ‘You just made a
mistake because now you’re our director.’ ”

Maher’s former company, ECS Federal, donated
start-up money, as did Porto Charities, a Catholic organization that funds
activities benefiting the disability community. Father Brian G. Bashista,
pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Lake Ridge, let the company
rehearse in the parish hall. John Paul the Great agreed to host the performances.
Eva, who works as an applied behavior analysis therapist, is making the set. A
cast member, Debra Bucklen, volunteered to help with the costuming.

The Heart House actors learned about the
production in different ways. Eva’s mother, Heidi, told members of her choir
about it, including Bucklen. Greg Hoppe and his mom, Karen, learned about the
play through Porto Charities. Kieran Weldon, a parishioner of St. Elizabeth,
was told by his theater director at Woodbridge High School. Leading man Luke Morris
was a classmate of Michael’s who heard about the play from the Thorpes. 

After two and half years of hard work,
the cast was assembled. “We have 23 people, which is 22 more than I thought we
would have,” said Eva. Their dream was becoming a reality, but Michael did have
one complaint. “On the first night of rehearsal, I looked over and Michael was
sulking. I said, ‘Why are you sulking? And he said, ‘This isn’t West Side
Story.’ ”

Showtime

When Eva envisioned a theater company
for her brother, she didn’t want something specifically for people with
disabilities. She wanted something for everyone, including people with
disabilities. It’s a philosophy the whole company has embraced. “Not only do
you have to accept each person who has an obvious disability, but it also
teaches you to accept (everyone else),” said Morris. “It creates a more
welcoming and charitable way of acting.”

Morris, a senior at The Catholic
University of America in Washington, was excited to act again after
participating in theater at John Paul the Great. “Michael and I had a director,
Sister Mary Brigid (Burnham), who was the coolest lady. She said the message of
acting and morality are the same — just act well,” he said. “I think that’s the
point of the company: to act well to each person and show them the dignity that
they deserve, independent and in spite of anything that may affect them.”

Bucklen and two of her daughters, Eden
and Lydia Shoop, have done theaters for years, and were excited to support the production.
Her daughter who has Down Syndrome, Moriah, isn’t able to be involved. But
Bucklen said they’ll have a hard time stopping Moriah from singing from the
audience. “She loves music — the whole family loves music,” she said. 

Cast member Greg was in theater while at
St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax and was asked back several times after
he graduated to guest star in the spring musicals. Karen said Greg, who has
Down syndrome, has loved the stage since his first recital in preschool. He
also loves musicals. “Greg knows the difference between the Robert Morse score
and the Daniel Ratcliffe score (of ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying’),” she said. “It’s show biz, honey, and that’s where he lives.”

To her, Heart House Inclusive Productions
is a great example of the culture of life in action. “Everyone has a right to
be born, but it’s so much more than that,” said Karen. “You also need to give
people an opportunity to pursue whatever gifts God gave them.” 

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If you go

Heart House Inclusive Productions’ performances of “How to
Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” will be held July 19-20 at Saint
John Paul the Great Catholic High School at 17700 Dominican Dr., Potomac
Shores. To learn more, go to www.hearthouseip.org.