A volunteer-run Niagara theatre group is staging its 19th annual production this spring, bringing more than 40 performers with disabilities to the stage for four performances of ‘Chicago’ across two venues, while raising $18,000 for permanent set technology to replace backdrops that once cost $5,000 for a single use.
TASC Niagara–Therapy and Alternatives for Special Children and Adults with Disabilities–relies entirely on ticket sales and donations to cover insurance, scripts, venue rentals and materials for their annual productions, which have become one of the few recurring performance and socialization programs in the region built around adults with disabilities.
Three dinner performances are scheduled at the Crystal Ridge Community Centre on April 18, 24 and 25, with doors at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m. Tickets are $60 and must be purchased by April 15, as the organization orders dinner based on confirmed attendance.
A fourth performance takes place May 14 at the Greg Frewin Theatre in Niagara Falls at $40, booked directly through the theatre.
The fundraising goal this year aims to cover a portable 16-by-10-foot video wall to replace physical backdrops for their annual shows. A single set of four backdrop panels cost the organization $5,000 last year. The video wall, priced at $18,000, would allow the group’s director to design a new backdrop for every scene at no additional cost.
Walter Deveau, vice president of TASC Niagara, told Fort Erie Radio the group has already secured nearly half that amount through community donations, including contributions from local agencies.
The wall is also intended to generate future revenue. Once owned outright, TASC plans to rent it to other organizations, bars and events as a portable display, with any income applied toward the remaining balance or future operating costs.
“There’s programs out there for adults with disabilities, but there’s no socialization like this. Our actors feel that our entire group is one giant family, and it doesn’t happen anywhere else,” said Deveau.
The group includes roughly 20 volunteers alongside more than 40 performers, some of whom have disabilities themselves.
“We change people’s lives. We don’t necessarily do it as an end result, it just happens. They grow, their confidence builds, and the support from the group makes it happen,” said Deveau.
Nancy Kacur, president of TASC Niagara, described the response she regularly receives from audience members who return year after year.
“People call me and say they never miss it. They make sure they get their tickets for the next year because it’s an experience you will never forget,” said Kacur.
Her own sons, she said, are moved to tears each time the performers take the stage.
“We try to make people laugh and to make them cry, and that usually happens,” said Kacur. “It’s so moving to see how happy and joyful they are to be there.”
Deveau, who has worked in the disability sector for four decades, recounted a moment from a past production when a woman who had volunteered for six years to push wheelchairs stepped onto the stage and sang ‘My Heart Will Go On’ a cappella–a moment her mother witnessed from the audience weeks before being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
The volunteer has continued with TASC since her mother’s passing.
“We’ll do a dress rehearsal and think we need six more months, but when the lights come on and the music starts, they just come to life,” said Deveau.
Another long-time participant, Selena Carlson, who has been with the program for nearly a decade, has since recorded her own song and is producing a music video with a record company.
Kacur summarized the group’s approach in a single line: “It’s for people with disabilities, but we only look at their ability,” she said. “We find that ability in them, and they find it in themselves.”
The group is actively seeking new actors and volunteers, and welcomes participants regardless of age or disability.
Tickets for the Ridgeway shows are available by contacting Kacur at (905) 894-176 before April 15.
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