SALLY COLE The Guardian
As his wheelchair is pushed through the doors of the nursing home, Michael (Gordie Arsenault) wipes a tear from his eye.
The actor is portraying a man with an intellectual disability who has had an accident.
Michael has fallen off a stepladder and broken his leg.
But that’s not what hurts him the most. Michael has a broken heart. Ever since the accident happened, his sister has wanted him out of her home. She is going to have a baby and can’t take care of him anymore.
That is why he is moving into a long-term care facility.
And he’s not happy about it.
“Bingo and no beer, boy this place is going to be hard on the head. The only thing left is solitaire,” says Michael as he listens to the orderly, Ralph (Norman Pickering), listing off house rules.
It’s a scene from a new play by Vian Emery. From Pillar to Post will be performed by the People First Theatre Troupe at The Guild in Charlottetown on April 24.
The play deals with what often happens to persons with intellectual disabilities, following an accident or the death of a parent, when they are placed into long-term care facilities because there’s nowhere else for them to go.
“The play simply illustrates their circumstances. It also focuses on the rights of men and women with intellectual disabilities to choose where and with whom they will live,” says Emery.
It’s an issue Arsenault feels strongly about.
“Too many people under 60 with intellectual disabilities are in nursing homes when they should be living in the community with their peers. We hope that the play will show people this,” says the actor, a member of People First, a self-advocacy group for adults with intellectual disabilities.
In the next scene, Lennie (Kevin Ramsay) is looking bored in a nursing home when a well-meaning senior gives him a teddy bear, not realizing that he’s a fully-grown man.
Feeling misunderstood Lennie starts acting out. He screams and throws the stuffed animal across the room of the nursing home.
When an orderly attempts to put him in time out, Lennie barricades himself behind a chair.
“In the manor, seniors treat us like babies and give us teddy bears. They don’t know what we need,” says Ramsay, a seasoned actor with the troupe.
He’s illustrating what often happens when two different populations are placed together, says Emery.
“Putting persons under 60 with intellectual challenges into the same mix with seniors can create a number of challenges.
“Often seniors are afraid. When they were growing up,people with disabilities were kept in institutions, out of sight or mind.
“Sometimes they just don’t understand. They treat persons with intellectual disabilities like children or babies,” says Emery.
While the play is fictional, it is based on the actual experiences of Prince Edward Islanders.
“The script comes from research by Barb Fanning of People First.
“Last year she visited long-term care facilities from Souris to Tignish and talked to at least 60 residents. That is where it came from,” says Arsenault.
From that research, Emery wrote a play.
“The storyline and the characters are a composite of all the research that has been done.
“And now we’re getting ready to show the findings with the play,” says Emery, who holds rehearsals with the cast members on weekdays at Community Connections in Summerside.
At a glance Performance facts
What: From Pillar to Post.
When: Thursday, April 24, 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Guild, Charlottetown.
Starring: Gordie Arsenault, Kim McDougall, Norman Pickering, Tasha Adams, Kevin Ramsay and Marie Barlow.
Written and directed by Vian Emery.
Admission: Donations will be accepted at the door.
Sponsors: People First is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Population Health Fund.
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