FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Jesters of the University of Saint Francis will present their annual spring performance on March 10 at 6 p.m. and March 11 at 3 p.m. at the USF North Campus auditorium, 2702 Spring Street.
The Jesters is a performing arts group of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities, ages 8 through senior citizens. This year’s show, Heads or Tails, Hands and Hearts, will be performed by a cast of 80+ people with I/DD who will explore the idea of community. Performers will use music, dance, theatre, improvisation, visual art, animation and green screen technology to ask the questions: In what kind of community do we want to live? How do we create it? What are its values? How do we protect it? The story is told through the voice of everyday characters who feel threatened by Godzilla and other monsters created by Jester participants. All these characters are challenged to reconcile the relationship between intellect and force (heads and tails) and realize the beauty and power in hands and hearts. The show includes studies and references to the work of visual artists Robert Indiana, Keith Haring and Jean-Luc Bozzoli.
Tickets are $10 and are available by calling the USF School of Creative Arts (SOCA) at (260) 399-7700, ext. 8001.
The Jesters program and this year’s performance is made possible by the support of the AWS Foundation, ME Raker Foundation, the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Sponsored by the University of Saint Francis since 1978, the Jesters is a performing group of people with mild to severe intellectual/developmental disabilities. The purpose of the Jesters is to enhance quality of life for people with disabilities by engaging them in the creative arts. The vision is to develop self-expression, self-esteem, socialization and other life skills while providing learning opportunities to the USF community and the community at large.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership and School of Creative Arts. In addition to its traditional programs, USF designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. In 2016, the University of Saint Francis expanded its presence to downtown Fort Wayne. USF Downtown houses the university’s business and music technology programs while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis campus experience includes 16 athletic programs boasting two individual and three team NAIA national championships, and is recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution. Approximately 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF.