Spring 2024

Penguins on Stages from Tampa to Tacoma
The Penguin Project Celebrates 20 Years of Producing Magic
Mary Doveton, AACT Spotlight Editorial Team
Science may tell us that penguins are flightless birds,
but Penguin Project enthusiasm and imagination have been
soaring over community theatre stages across the country
for over 20 years.
communities in Illinois embraced the concept, it captured
the imagination and the enthusiasm of theatres across the
country. Today, 55 active chapters from Tacoma, Washington,
to Annapolis, Maryland, are creating this magic as part
of the Penguin Project.
In 2004, Dr. Andrew Morgan had the audacious idea
of partnering young people with special needs with their
neurotypical peers to rehearse and perform musicals. “Dr.
Andy,” as he’s known, is currently Professor Emeritus of
Clinical Pediatrics and the former Head of the Division of
Child Development at the University of Illinois College of
Medicine at Peoria. He has been treating children with disabilities
for over 35 years. He is also a theatre performer and
director.
Today, 55 active chapters
from Tacoma, Washington,
to Annapolis, Maryland,
are creating magic as part
of the Penguin Project
His vision called for having children with disabilities
assume the role of artists, while their peers would become
mentors. Together, they took part in a four-month-long
journey to stage the musical Annie. Dr. Andy says the show
was such a success that the group decided to continue to
stage one show a year in Peoria, adding, “We had no expectations
beyond that.”
However, after several successful years, parents of the
participants began looking for a way to expand benefits of
the program to special needs kids beyond Peoria. The Penguin
Project Foundation was created, with the idea of replicating
the program in other locations. After several other
On April 13 this year, a gala will be held in Peoria to celebrate
the 20th Anniversary of the Penguin Project Foundation.
The gala will feature returning Penguin talent reprising
their original roles, along with Broadway performers.
Since 2004, thousands of young people across the country
have benefited and had their lives changed through participation
in this program. Morrie Enders, Executive Director
at Lincoln Community Playhouse in Lincoln, Nebraska,
describes the program as “transformative” and the highlight
of his 37 years of community theatre leadership. Young artists
with developmental disabilities ranging from Down
Syndrome to autism, as well as visual, hearing, and mobility
issues, cerebral palsy, and learning disabilities, gather with
volunteer peers. During the rehearsal months they sing, they
dance, they act, and, most important, they get to know each
other.
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AACT SPOTLIGHT