Theatre student volunteers with special needs community program

This summer, Maria Reginaldi, a rising sophomore in Liberty University’s Department of Theatre Arts, spent two weeks volunteering with a theatre program in her hometown that gives special needs performers the opportunity to showcase their talents on stage.

“The participants don’t normally get opportunities to do theatre,” Reginaldi, of Greensboro, N.C., said. “They have a talent that often gets overlooked. These people have never been a main character, have never gotten the spotlight, and then all of a sudden they get to be the star; it is so special.”

Individuals of all ages with a variety of needs, including Down syndrome and physical handicaps, are welcome to participate in the Community Theatre of Greensboro’s Onstage and Inclusive program, which the theater has been holding annually for the past four years. Volunteers partner with one or two special needs individuals and help them to rehearse and perform an act of their choice. Reginaldi teamed up with Kayla Usry, who is wheelchair bound, to stage a rendition of “For Good,” a song from the Broadway sensation “Wicked” (Usry’s favorite). The program ran from June 6-19.

After two weeks of rehearsals, performances were held for three nights.

“(Audiences) were really affected and moved by the production,” Reginaldi said. In particular, they were touched by Usry’s performance through the deeply emotional song of friendship. “Every night people would look at her and say, ‘You made me cry, that was very beautiful.’”

Throughout the summer, Reginaldi has been working with the theater’s youth camps during the day. Even though volunteering with the special needs program meant coming back to the theater for several hours each night for a couple weeks, she was glad to help out.

“Theatre and working with the special needs community are my two passions,” Reginaldi said, noting she volunteered with a special needs day camp as a high-schooler. “That was awesome, serving through my passion. … I didn’t have a lot of time to think about myself, and, honestly, those were some of the best weeks of my life because I was not self-focused.”

Reginaldi has been involved with the Community Theatre of Greensboro since she was a child. She saw a production and instantly discovered her desire to be a stage actress. This summer was her first opportunity to serve as an employee of the theater, though she has performed in a number of its productions, including starring in “The Wizard of Oz” five years ago.Reginaldi decided to come to Liberty — where she is now studying theatre performance — after visiting and seeing an Alluvion Stage Company (Liberty’s professional theatre company) production. This fall, Reginaldi will be among the cast of Alluvion’s upcoming production “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” She was in two academic main stage productions as a freshman: “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “Brigadoon.”While she hopes to advance her career as a performer, Reginaldi will continue to serve those with special needs as opportunities arise. She said she may even want to run her own inclusive program someday.

• Read a local newspaper feature about Reginaldi’s volunteer work.