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From the Wheaton Gazette An opera with something to say
Some people may question whether an audience composed of children and adolescents
with mental retardation or autism is capable of appreciating an opera, but
Lesley Choy is not among them.
Determined to express her gratitude for the joy these youth have given to
her over the years, Choy recently brought the Unidentified Flying Opera Company
to the Stephen Knolls School in Wheaton.
"I believe everyone can learn," said Choy, director of "Perfection: A Space
Opera in One Act," which was performed by the company at Stephen Knolls Nov.
26. "There's an old saying: 'Just because one cannot speak, does not mean
one does not have something to say. I view these kids as the angels of the
Earth ... It is incumbent upon us to do everything we can to serve them because
they enrich our lives so much."
Elizabeth "Kitty" Reed, Stephen Knolls' teacher-in-charge, said that in addition
to mental retardation, many of the school's students are confined to wheelchairs
or walking-assistance devices.
Choy, a Silver Spring resident and substitute special education aide for
Montgomery County Public Schools, sometimes works at Stephen Knolls and
enthusiastically greeted many students by name as they gathered before the
start of the opera. The performance was primarily funded by an Outreach Grant
from the Arts Council of Montgomery County, Choy said.
The 45-minute opera offered a story-line that mirrors a real-life problem
facing many of its audience members -- a limited capacity to communicate
-- and is designed to encourage them.
The opera's protagonist was born with many health problems, and is therefore
unable to speak. Nevertheless, the boy's parents blanket him with love and
name him "Perfection."
The setting for the opera is on the planet Yo-yo, and in this make-believe
world, Perfection is old enough for school within 10 days.
When he arrives -- frightened and nervous for his first day at school --
all of his new classmates beg to have him sit next to them. His new teacher,
Ms. Oldspecs, is both patient and compassionate, and the warm reception
Perfection receives at school makes a difficult transition easy.
In the end, Perfection recovers the magical ball and discovers that Dangerous
Lil is really his long-lost aunt.
The UFO Company performed the same opera for Col. E. Brooke Lee Middle School
Nov. 24, and a busload of students from Lee assisted the professional group
at Stephen Knolls.
But the highlight for Choy came from the opera's background art, which was
produced by the combined efforts of all 72 students at Stephen Knolls, under
the guidance of art teacher Mary Schwartz.
The art included amazingly detailed pictures of a large rainbow and a blue
skyline with white clouds hanging over a wide-open green landscape filled
with trees and a winding, white picket fence.
The images made Choy emotional.
"As proud as I am of our professional crew, I'm even prouder of the Stephen
Knolls students," Choy said. "I cried when I first saw it.
"This backdrop and this art are just as much the stars as [our performers]."
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, photo Van Ly
A fellow classmate gives Perfection a rubber-band
ball, and he can speak well and be understood so long as he is holding it.
But then a villain -- Dangerous Lil -- comes onto the scene, stealing
Perfection's rubber-band ball, hindering his communication skills and abducting
him onto her spaceship.