Conspiracy spreads across the country

A conspiracy is playing out in high schools around the country - and it all comes down to jellybeans.

The Jellybean Conspiracy, started by UMKC Theatre professor Dr. Howard Martin, is an innovative organization, as well as a play, that aims to give children with disabilities an opportunity to perform in theater - an opportunity most of them would not have had otherwise.

"The idea behind the 'Jellybean' is to bring people's attention to a play and that people with disabilities can be involved in the arts," Martin said. "[They] can make contributions to the arts, and can be involved in theater shows and their gifts can be explored and expressed on stage."

The first half of "The Jellybean Conspiracy" consists of a compilation of poems, songs, dances and other pieces written by kids with disabilities, as well as their parents and siblings. The second part of the show is the play itself. The entire play is 50 minutes long.

"Our culture accepts people with disabilities much better than they did a generation ago," Martin said. "There has been huge amount of progress in the way people with disabilities are understood, [but] there's still a long way to go."

The play has spread nationwide to 20 high schools in the United States with 60 shows performed so far.

High school theater departments partner with the special education departments and order the script from "The Jellybean Conspiracy" Web site.

"I'd really like to get it into every school in the country if I can," Martin said. "It's going to take a lot of hard work to get the word out about that. We'd like to get a lot more because we'd like to give a lot more kids an opportunity to do it."

The performance also includes children without disabilities who are getting a chance to broaden their horizons and learn about the other students they go to school with who they might not have had a chance to interact with before.

"The students without disabilities … all of them learn something new about the world of disability," Martin said. "All of them tend to become more accepting, more understanding, more supportive."

In the eight years since the inception of "The Jellybean Conspiracy," more than half a dozen students who worked on the production have chosen a career in special education.

In addition to the students enjoying it, the parents of children with disabilities who participate have been universally supportive of the production, Martin said.

He said the name of the organization has a special meaning, too.

"The idea is that the jellybean represents diversity," Martin said. "Every jellybean is a different color, yet every jellybean has equivalent value … a different color on the outside but equally sweet on the inside."

To learn more about "The Jellybean Conspiracy," visit www.jelly beanconspiracy.com, or attend the fundraiser this Sept. 10 at Red Barn Farm to help raise money to spread the word around the country.

moribhabor@unews.com