It’s Official! The Peoria Penguin Project’s 20th Anniversary Show is “Disney’s Lion King JR.”
Our informational Meeting is August 28th / 7:00pm
Fondulac Park District / 201 Veterans Drive in East Peoria
Performances will be January 12th-14th, 2024
All interested Artists, please send an email with the title: “ARTIST” in the subject line to PeoriaPenguinProject@gmail.com Please add your name and age in the body. We’ll send a Google Doc to you to fill out and submit online.
All interested Mentors, please send an email with the title: “MENTOR” or “SWING” in the subject line to PeoriaPenguinProject@gmail.com Please add your name and your age in the body. We’ll send you a Google Doc to fill out and submit online.
We’re happy to answer questions at the same email address. Our crew is looking forward to an amazing 20th Anniversary with RETURNING and NEW Penguins!
Penguin Players News!
Penguin Players will perform Addams Family Young @ Part at the ICC Performing Arts Center (located at 1 College Drive in East Peoria) beginning at 7:30 pm. An adult spinoff of the Penguin Project, which produces shows starring children with developmental disabilities, tickets are $12 and are available in advance at https://www.facebook.com
The Penguin Project – Peoria
Once a year, a magical and touching celebration of the human spirit unfolds at Eastlight Theatre in East Peoria, Illinois. A group of children in a program called The Penguin Project® take to the stage to perform a modified version of a well-known Broadway musical.
This production is unique, however, because all of the roles are filled by children with developmental disabilities including Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and other neurological disorders. They are joined on stage by their “peer mentors”, a group of children the same age without disabilities, who have volunteered to work with them side-by-side and guide them through 4 months of rehearsals and the final production.
By creating unrestricted access to the performing arts, The Penguin Project® demonstrates that the special challenges of a disability need not handicap a child’s ability to participate in life’s experiences.
“Our penguins may not be able to fly, but that does not prevent their spirits from soaring.”