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PROJECT UP Summer Project Up program for special needs kids culminates with show Friday Summer program culminates with show at 3 p.m. Friday Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 30, 2015 at 8:41 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 30, 2015 at 8:41 PM » Social News A group of special needs kids have been developing new skills, making new friends and having loads of fun rehearsing in a theater camp at the new Project Up of Ashland. They will perform Disney’s “High School Musical” at 3 p.m. Friday at Shepherd’s Way Church. Admission is free and open to the public. Linda Detweiler and her daughter Zahra, who has Down Syndrome, spent seven years attending a Project Up school in Huntsville, Ala., and when they moved here last January, found there was nothing like it in the area — so, says Linda, they decided to make one. It serves children with a range of diagnoses — Down Syndrome, placement on the Autism Spectrum, cerebral palsy and other afflictions. Many, she says, would start the camp by declining to get up on the stage, but soon the general fun, happy movement and song encouraged them to start literally getting in the act. “That’s the purpose of the whole experience,” says Detweiler. “It’s been such a life-changer for Zahra and her social network. They do art also, which teaches the heart. On stage, they gain confidence. It gives them a group they belong to and a way to express themselves.” Detweiler and her adult colleagues got the idea for the class four months ago, expecting about eight students. With the vigorous recruiting help of Julia Laurenson, a child actor at Oregon Shakespeare Festival for five seasons, they got twice that. Her passion for the project goes back to her brother Luke, who has cerebral palsy and gets around in a walker. “I grew up with Luke and have been exposed to special needs a long time, plus I’ve worked in theater for a long time," Laurenson said. "I was Dixie in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ and a fairy in ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ so this is really an experience, where you always want to do your best. It’s also about having a great time and we are. We help them to do their best.” The special needs students are helped by a cadre of middle and high schoolers, who get 30 hours credit for their 100-hour community service requirement for graduation from high school. Most special needs students are from Ashland, with a few from Talent, Klamath Falls and Springfield. The class runs 1 to 4 in the afternoons at the Shepherd’s Way Church. “It’s fun to help them out,” says student volunteer Scott Stover, a junior. “We’re very enthusiastic for them and definitely see them respond to it.” The special needs students, at the end of the standard musical, have created their own epilogue, says Detweiler, in which each character talks about what they will be doing when they grow up — being president, a great poet and one being bitten by a spider and turning into Spiderman. Detweiler plans to continue Project Up with weekly classes in fall, winter, spring — and the long class again next summer. The long class is $150, with no one turned away because of money. She may be reached in Ashland at 541-324-8609 and [email protected]. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jul. 30, 2015 at 8:41 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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