VSA Pennsylvania
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2030 Sansom Street, 3rd Floor |
Mimi Kenney Smith |
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Tel.: (215) 564-2431 |
Website: |
Organizational Profile:
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Full-time Staff: 2 |
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VSA Pennsylvania exists to develop and support inclusive arts education; promote universal access to cultural events and organizations; and provide opportunities in the arts for people with and without disabilities, including through its inclusive professional theatre, Amaryllis Theatre Company.
Programming Partners and Other Funders:
Art-Reach, Inc. and more 60 cultural, educational, and disability organizations including, among others: Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities; Arts and Business Council of Greater Philadelphia; Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities; Governor’s Cabinet and Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities; Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council; Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; Pennsylvania Department of Education; Arden Theatre Company; Philadelphia Theatre Company; Temple University; La Salle University; Inglis House; Free Library of Philadelphia; Overbrook School for the Blind; Braille Revival League; Philadelphia Regional Chapter of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind; Pennsylvania School for the Deaf; Philadelphia Cultural Fund; Independence Foundation; The Samuel S. Fels Fund; The William Penn Foundation; The Good*Friend Foundation; The Maxwell Strawbridge Foundation; Philadelphia Department of Commerce; Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation; Christopher Reeve Foundation; The Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation; The Valley Forge Music Trust
Educational Programs and Artist Residencies
Touring Educational Theatre
In response to requests from area educators, this program was designed to bring main stage, professional theatrical performances (most recently, Lynn Manning’s Weights), as well as original theme-based musicals to students. Original touring works include Mainstreamed, a story about a Deaf high school girl mainstreamed into a public hearing high school and Bully For You, a musical about bullying designed for students in kindergarten through grade 5. All work includes a pre-performance teacher preparation session; a post-performance talkback with the production’s inclusive cast and director; and a series of curriculum-based, intensive workshops.
Life Stories
This artist-in-residence program serves adults with disabilities across the Greater Philadelphia area. For the past two years, artists have worked closely with Inglis House, a wheelchair community, to create multimedia performance pieces comprised of music, video, poetry, and movement. These pieces are performed publicly at the end of each yearlong session.
VSA Pennsylvania also participates in ArtLink, Playwright Discovery, and Young Soloists. These programs, designed by VSA, highlight the artistic endeavors of youth across our state and provide opportunities for greater exposure.
The Elektra Project:
VSA Pennsylvania/Amaryllis Theatre will work with hip-hop dancers and actress Pamela Sabaugh, who is blind, on an original interpretation of Sophocles’ Elektra, focusing on the choral work in connection with the character of Elektra and presenting a 30- to 50-minute educational production with original music, audio description, and ASL interpretation developed along with the production. The tour, with an inclusive cast, will be accompanied by a study guide and workshops in hip-hop dance, music composition, acting, and disability awareness.
Professional Development and Technical Assistance
The Pennsylvania Arts Education Task Force
Working with Pennsylvania Department of Education, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Governor’s Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities, as well as other organizations and universities, VSA Pennsylvania helps to develop programs to support arts classroom teachers and teaching artists as they work to include students with disabilities in their inclusive classrooms, workshops, and residencies.
Cultural Access and Inclusive Arts Services
Independence Starts Here: The Accessibility Program
This is a cultural access program led jointly by VSA Pennsylvania and Art-Reach, Inc., that draws on the strengths of the region’s disability and cultural organizations. These groups work together to create greater inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities in the cultural life of Greater Philadelphia and to develop audiences for accessible programs and venues. Audio description, captioning and inclusive customer service training and other access programs occur throughout the Greater Philadelphia area.
Last year, using Independence Starts Here! as a template, VSA Pennsylvania expanded its reach beyond the Greater Philadelphia area. VSA Pennsylvania currently serves both the Lancaster/York and Pittsburgh areas through various access initiatives such as those that equip these areas with community accessibility technology and provide inclusive training for equipment use and customer service.
Public Awareness and Outreach
Amaryllis Theatre Company
Amaryllis produces full seasons of inclusive, professional theatre productions that include actors, directors and designers with and without disabilities from around the country in award-winning, accessible productions.
(F) 202-429-0868