Stone Belt clients explore life with disabilities through monologues

Nine Stone Belt clients, in cooperation with the Bloomington Playwrights Project, showed Bloomington that people with disabilities deserve to be treated like everyone else with their annual production of “I AM YOU” on March 10 and 11.

Stone Belt is an organization that provides services for individuals with developmental disabilities in south-central Indiana.

With the help of Stone Belt Lifelong Learning Curriculum Developer and IU alumna Michelle Davenport, the clients wrote and produced a collection of dramatic monologues.

For each monologue, the clients incorporated one of Stone Belt’s seven core values: self-determination is essential; learning creates empowerment; all people have contributions to make; positive supports provide the best long-term results; home life must be self-directed; employment is a fundamental part of adult life; and social life and relationships help create quality of life.

“It was really amazing to see them choose,” Davenport said. “I thought (client) Jonathon (Hendrix) was going to choose ‘learning creates empowerment,’ but he chose ‘all people have contributions to make,’ so he knew something deeper than I did.”

In performer Troy Stewart’s piece, “Beautiful Mother,” Stewart was recorded reading a letter he wrote to his mother telling her how much he appreciates her.

The piece served as a reminder to appreciate the simple things in life, like “a big box of animal crackers” or “going out to lunch at Hardee’s,” two things Stewart mentioned in his letter.

“My mom is very special to me,” Stewart said.

Chris Rohrig, another performer, produced a piece called “Puzzles” in which he cut out pictures of his favorite people and things, glued them on large foam puzzle pieces and stuck them to a magnetic board.

He used the board as a prop while he discussed each piece’s significance with Davenport and the audience.

Rohrig included pictures of his parents and siblings and said he hopes his little sister, Mary Beth, is accepted to Duke University so he can go to the basketball games.

Pictures of the Duke basketball team were also included, along with his favorite band, Buckcherry, and his favorite food, pepperoni pizza. He said he hopes to attend a Buckcherry concert next year.

Davenport said she believes everyone has a story that can be told.

One client, Vicky Smith, discussed her longing for heaven.

“I can’t hardly wait to get up there,” she said, bouncing up and down excitedly.

The audience laughed with the performers and sympathized with their difficulties.

“I thought it was great,” audience member Gladys DeVane said. “I thought they did a wonderful job planning the program as such that they could represent a broad level of abilities.”