At Pleasant Valley, inclusion across the district is beyond important, and this past weekend, the drama department had the opportunity to work with the special education community in performing what’s called PV Spotlighters.
The performance, Spotlight on Love: A Valentine’s Day Variety Show, showcases the different talents of current and former special education students at PV. Spotlighters is a remarkable opportunity for students of the drama department to interact with students of the special education department, many who wouldn’t normally get to interact and collaborate with one another.
Beyond the stage, these students have gained life changing experiences with each other and have all made impacts on all of those who were a part of this opportunity.
Joanna Coon is a first-grade teacher for the PV district and the director of the Spotlighters performance. She has felt very grateful for this experience and is proud of all the students’ participation. “I really think watching the mentors and artists become friends and get to know each other through all of our practices has been really great,” said Coon.
Multiple PV drama students have stepped up to mentor the performers and help them through the process, many of whom expressed the importance of this program for the PV community.
Ky Green, a sophomore and a part of the drama program, has had the chance to mentor by assisting her spotlighter in learning to play A Million Dreams on piano. “This performance really matters because it brings diversity and equality to PV,” Green said. “This lets everyone, no matter who they are or what they can or can’t do, perform at the same levels as everyone else here.”
Elosie Coon, a sophomore, and Eva Vargas, a senior, who are both involved in drama and mentors for spotlighters, have learned a lot from helping with all the rehearsals and have been able to bond with many spotlighters. “I’ve gotten to know so many new people, and it’s so fun. Everybody works really hard and is super determined to have a good show,” Vargas said.
The drama department is already described as a community but PV spotlighters opened the doors for the community to expand and grow. “The artists taught us something. The mentors taught us something and it really brought us all together,” Joanna Coon expressed.
For many of the artists, these friends mean the world. To feel close and accepted among peers is incredibly important for all students.
Jazzie Zupancic and Ari Collins both expressed their excitement to be a part of spotlighters. “My favorite part is the friends I made,” Collins remarked. Furthermore, they highlighted what the performance really meant to them. “It’s about spreading love to everyone in the high school, and everyone who doesn’t really have the love to give to other people,” said Zupancic.
The drama departments’ connection to the special education department through PV Spotlighters has been rewarding for everyone involved and has opened a new door to special connections.
For many students, the drama department is an outlet for communication to the world, with the performances themselves being true displays of the identities of students and PV as a whole. “I think it is super important to give everybody a space where they’re able to express themselves through the arts,” Vargas shared.
PV spotlighters brought that experience to students with differing abilities, who often wouldn’t get the same stage to express themselves. This moment has taught so much to the mentors, artists, directors and audience who got to see this spectacular performance happen. Spotlight on Love: A Valentine’s Day Variety Show is an extraordinary exhibit of inclusion and equality that the PV community has been able to represent.
