3/16/11

Special needs; Special blessings

From Donna DeCalise

I wonder if you remember my request for information on how to perform ventriloquism for mentally challenged adults. I would like to share with you the joy I experienced at a Valentine's Day party held at our local center for those with disabilities.

Using a monkey puppet dressed up in a pretty little Valentine's Day dress I did a little skit about feelings, love, and family. The puppet was sad because she had not received any cards. I sang several songs to her including, "You Are So Beautiful To Me", and presented her with a Valentine's Day card and candy heart. The puppet soon felt better, jumped around, laughed, and acted silly. The audience just loved her.

Then the puppet began to flirt with some boys in the audience and asked one young man to come up so she could sing a song to him. He sang along with her and kissed her on the cheek. It was so moving and tender, I almost cried. As they sang, the audience giggled, smiled and made comments. I asked for applause when they were done singing.

The puppet also gave out candy hearts to everyone because she was so full of love. After the skit I asked several volunteers to come up and work the puppet's mouth as I talked and sang for it. After a few tries they all performed a song and we had a good laugh. I reminded them that we were not laughing AT them, but that they were entertaining us and making us laugh at what they were doing. I gave a lot of praise and encouragement along the way. Their faces beamed with accomplishment and pride. The staff was very pleased with the outcome. They felt the people were not only entertained, but that life lessons were also applied and reinforced throughout the puppet's experiences.

It was such a wonderful experience. I came away feeling very blessed and loved. I praise God for this special opportunity to share ventriloquism with some very special people. It did not take much to impress them, yet they made me feel like I was Terry Fator. God certainly answered my prayer and I just wanted to share with you this blessing in my life.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous3/16/2011

    It looks like Donna DeCalise ran with her mind, and her heart and hit a home run! It is wonderful to hear of someone getting folks to enjoy and laugh even when afflicted with serious medical problems. God Loves you, Donna, and of all the advise you may have gotten, I believe it was He who gave you the best advice. God Bless You. Warm Regards, Joe " Capt. Joe " Radle </:o)

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  2. Donna; When you go into a show knowing the challenges set forth for you, it can be really scary but as you found out after the first laugh and smile, you were reaching these special people. Many people in our field don't know how to put a life lesson into their show because if they do, they think there's no chance they can be funny. Just last month I mentioned ministry shows to Mark Wade to have at Vent Haven when I-FEST is not being held especially. Since the Frys no longer are available for a workshop,this has stopped however more and more vents and puppeteers want to put lessons, whether they're religious or not in their shows but when you do these type shows, you've another set of rules to play with and things you can't do. You've done it properly and the joy you got is so much stronger than money. Money is good too but that feeling you get doing one of these shows, there's just no real good words for it. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Donna; When you go into a show knowing the challenges set forth for you, it can be really scary but as you found out after the first laugh and smile, you were reaching these special people. Many people in our field don't know how to put a life lesson into their show because if they do, they think there's no chance they can be funny. Just last month I mentioned ministry shows to Mark Wade to have at Vent Haven when I-FEST is not being held especially. Since the Frys no longer are available for a workshop,this has stopped however more and more vents and puppeteers want to put lessons, whether they're religious or not in their shows but when you do these type shows, you've another set of rules to play with and things you can't do. You've done it properly and the joy you got is so much stronger than money. Money is good too but that feeling you get doing one of these shows, there's just no real good words for it. Great job!

    ReplyDelete