Stone Belt clients perform at BPP

Fourteen performers with disabilities shared their stories onstage through songs and dramatic monologues in the show “I Am You.”

The performers were clients of Stone Belt, a service provider for individuals with disabilities. They worked on their pieces with the help of Theatre of the People, The Bloomington Playwrights Project and other volunteers.

Each performer brought something different to the stage. Mike Collins shared the story of meeting his fiance Gina Barger and sang “Good Morning Beautiful” for her.

Misty Lawyer, Melissa Abbitt and Krista Heard brought laughter to the audience as they talked about what they liked to do. And many others shared their life stories in the spotlight. The night ended with Dixie Chaney singing “You Are My Sunshine,” and the audience joined in as all of the artists took the stage.

Junior Sara Rebmann volunteered as one of the directors for the show and worked with the performers backstage.

“Everyone was really nervous,” Rebmann said. “They were just chatting about different things, trying to take deep breaths... it was pretty calm overall.”

One of the artists, IU employee Rebecca Zimmerman, said she was pleased with her performance that night, even if she was a bit nervous.

“I was happy, glad, a little nervous, and overall I did pretty well,” Zimmerman said.
Bloomington resident Annie Corrigan said she enjoyed the show and its message.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a great evening,” Corrigan said. “It was very touching, one of the more touching bits of theater that I’ve been to in a while, actually.”