A Special Little Performance Company

The cast of Best of Broadway.

It started small, with a group of students with Down Syndrome, whom Debbie Goncalves was teaching. She found out, as she got to know them, that they loved music. When the school where she was working had their annual talent show, she taught her students a skit, which they performed as their entry to the show.

Debbie recalled the experience, "I will never forget the standing ovation they received after their act was over. Now, these students have graduated and finding appropriate recreational activities that they can participate in is so difficult. So, I felt that opening a drama club would not only provide these students with an outlet to challenge themselves but it provides them a social activity as well."



That also shows how Ms. Goncalves decided to develop TA-DA! PRODUCTIONS, located in Old Bridge, NJ. This group serves both older adolescents and adults with special needs by giving them a space to socialize and an outlet to express themselves by performing. She started this organization back in 2014, so it's pretty young for an organization.

Ta-Da! runs an eight-week program every Tuesday during the Fall and Spring sessions, at the end of which participants put on an annual performance production. The performance is usually scheduled on a Tuesday evening at 7 PM after the end of the Spring session. The performance is generally held at a school in Old Bridge Township.

After a performance, there is always a cast party.

This year, the production, entitled Best of Broadway, was held on June 7, at Old Bridge High School. Last summer marked a first for production participants. The boys made their first music video, Life Is a Highway, followed just a few weeks later by the girls' first music video, Route 66.

The program flyer for this year's performance.

With now three performance productions and two music videos under their belt, this little production company that could is well on its way. I bet the residents and production participants can't wait to see what's in store for next year!

Thanks for information from this article on Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/debbie-goncalves-ta-da-productions/; and the above link.

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