The Penguin Project of the Quad Cities, Augustana's chapter of the national organization, gives children with special needs a chance to develop creative skills in the theatre arts.
Established in 2004, the Penguin Project is a national program with chapters across the U.S. In the Quad Cities, the chapter rehearses at the Center for Living Arts in Rock Island, and performances are at the Brunner Theatre Center at Augustana.
Roles are filled by young artists with developmental disabilities. They are joined on stage by a peer mentors who have volunteered to work side by side with them through months of rehearsals and the final performances. Augustana students help out behind the scenes to ensure each production's success.
The show for 2020 will be "Lion King Jr." Jan. 24 - Feb. 2.
Penguin Project productions have sold out three years in a row and 2020 is no exception. However, a simulcast of the Jan. 25 and 26 shows will be available across the street from the theatre in Centennial Hall. Tickets for the simulcast are $5 at the door or online.
For more information or to get a child involved as a Penguin or peer mentor, contact Jeff Coussens, executive director, Penguin Project of the Quad Cities.
Augustana College will present "The Captive," April 7-10, a 1926 melodrama about a woman who pretends to be with a man but is in love with a woman.
Augustana College will present “The 39 Steps” March 10-13, a Hitchcock masterpiece crossed with a spy novel and a dash of Monty Python.
The writers and a leader actor in the upcoming "Aaron Power!", an Irish-American musical of diversity, will talk about their work at 2 p.m. March 12 at the Brunner Theatre Center on campus.
The Genesius Guild will present Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" June 18-19 and 25-26.
