LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — The Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen took the stage at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center on Sunday night. Before the curtain went up, the show’s sponsor hosted a VIP party that highlighted the talents of local students.
Mercy Health–St. Rita’s invited its Project Search interns to showcase artwork and posters they created for the musical. Project Search helps high school students with disabilities develop skills through internships at the hospital. Rita’s.
Before the curtain went up, the show’s sponsor hosted a VIP party that highlighted the talents of local students.
Recently, the interns and dozens of students from 15 area high schools had the opportunity to go backstage at the Civic Center to learn about the production process. They also participated in discussions about social anxiety, suicide, and mental health with professionals from the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board—key themes explored in Dear Evan Hansen. The Project Search students hope the musical’s message resonates with the community.
“Because mental health is important to know,” said Carmen Schroeder, a Project Search intern. “And it's very, very real, and it's not something to be taken lightly, and people need to know that there are other ways out of a bad situation, other than suicide, and letting people know that it's okay to not be okay,” added Abby Blevins, also a Project Search intern.
“Last year, when the Civic Center came to us about this show that we would sponsor, and it was Dear Evan Hansen, it spoke to our hearts and our mission,” said Ann Stiles, community affairs coordinator at Mercy Health–St. Rita’s. “And to be able to bring this to Lima is amazing, and to be able to involve our Project Search students, on top of our high school students, is wonderful.”
The interns and dozens of students from 15 area high schools had the opportunity to go backstage at the Civic Center to learn about the production process.
“We have been able to share a lot about the show and the underlying issues that come up in the show with our community, with students in the community, with Project Search, with the mental health board,” said Carmen Cecala-Wells, director of development for the Civic Center Foundation. “It's been really nice to be able to collaborate and do this all together for such an important message.”
Project Search Coordinator and Instructor Leigh Taylor expressed appreciation for the Civic Center’s commitment to providing students with hands-on experiences.
“By doing the posters or the paintings and anything that we do, it kind of gives them an extra kind of like, ‘Look what I did, and I’m a part of this,’” Taylor said. “And then they're displayed, and so then they feel like, ‘Oh, I'm special.’ And I don’t know. I just think it’s one of those things that they may never get this chance to be this involved in, you know, feel glamorized enough. So I think it’s just something that they should experience.”
The Project Search interns will graduate from their home high schools in the coming months.
