With non-disabled groups, he said, "I was able to give them an idea or a way to do something, and they would make it truly their own. With this group I have to fill it in a little more."
But Shoenberger said the VSA cast members caught on quickly. "I think it stems from their love of theater," he said. "When you include them in things they have a passion for, it just clicks because their passion overcomes their disability."
VSA's new director, Ben Shoenberger, runs through a scene from "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" with some of the actors.
(Photos Tracy A. Woodward -- The Washington Post)
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Farnsworth had a more tangible challenge: designing costumes to accommodate wheelchairs and actors with Down syndrome, whose bodies are shaped differently. To make the costumes easier to get on and off, she used snaps or belts instead of lace-up ties so that actors with less nimble fingers can change more quickly.
Farnsworth, a freelance costume designer from Hillsboro, tries to avoid tightly fitting costumes: "Let's face it, it's difficult to wear a corset. I'm not going to do that to these guys. I make them looser so they're easier to wear and easier to put on and take off."
Instead, she said she emphasized bright colors and trims -- "things that make the costumes sort of sparkly and special."
Warren-Baker, a professional pianist and the show's musical director, said she didn't have to adapt her approach much.
"I have to improvise more with the music and keep it going long enough for them to get changed," she said. "Sometimes their dance might take a little longer than expected."
Power, who will be watching the show from the audience for the first time this year, said she hoped Shoenberger and the others would continue their work with VSA. "It can be a career field, I really believe," she said of working with disabled actors.
Numbers back her up: Fifteen percent of Loudoun County adults and children are considered disabled, according to The ARC of Loudoun County (LARC), a nonprofit advocacy group for individuals with mental retardation and related disabilities. The annual VSA spring show, which finds a part for everyone, regardless of age or ability, has had as many as 60 people in a single production.
The blended cast of disabled and non-disabled actors is part of what makes the show special for those involved. For Amy and Ginny Blair, 11 and 12, of Lovettsville, it's an opportunity to help their little sister shine. Corrine, 4, has Down syndrome and has been in VSA productions since she was a baby. The first year, Ginny and Amy were spectators. The next season, they told their mother, Janet, that they wanted to take part.
This year, everyone in the Blair family has a role: Corrine is the enchanted princess, her parents are the enchanted king and queen, Ginny and Amy play servants and their 8-year-old brother, Peter, is a prince.
"Peter plays a prince in the middle of five other princes with Down syndrome, and he thinks it's totally normal," Janet Blair said. "I think, 'What a gift.' "
Elizabeth Bracey got her 5-year-old daughter, Cecilia, involved for the same reason.
"I wanted her to really understand what people with disabilities are all about. I didn't want her to feel nervous or scared," she said. "What I wanted to happen is exactly what happened: She looks at them as actors. She understands their disabilities. She's not afraid of them."
Brett Lobalbo was all smiles in his prince's costume at one of the final rehearsals last week.
The 22-year-old disabled actor from Fairfax County said that he had been acting his whole life and that "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" was his favorite show so far.
Lobalbo loves making new friends and meeting new people, he said, "but the twelve dancing princesses are my favorite.
"I always want to see twelve girls."
"The Twelve Dancing Princesses" will be presented at 3 p.m. today, 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. next Sunday at Belmont Ridge Middle School, 19045 Upper Belmont Pl., Leesburg. Admission is $18 per family; $5 per person; and free for 2 and younger. For more information, call 540-338-7973 or visit www.franklinparkartscenter.org.
