Making Change

Arts for All Loudoun has made a big impression on one MainStreet Bank employee. She’s seen every show since 1992, when her former brother-in-law, William, first performed in a production of Peter Pan at the age of 8. William has Down syndrome and has been acting with the nonprofit organization for over 30 years. Since 1989, Arts for All Loudoun has been making the arts accessible for people with disabilities.

“It’s very dear to my heart,” said the MainStreet Bank employee, who joined together with a group of colleagues to donate $4,000 to the organization in 2023. “You see a different side of them when they get up on stage. If you watch a show, it just brings tears to your eyes.”

“We call it the ‘Arts for All miracle,’” said Amanda Barr, Artistic Director. “When you give individuals with special needs access to an environment that is just the right amount of stimulus to them, it’s like they’re an entirely different person.”

Arts for All began as a theater organization under the umbrella of “Very Special Arts” (VSA) International, a program run out of the Kennedy Center. In 2001, they added a branch for visual arts: the DaVinci Fine Arts Program, and in 2019 they officially changed their name to Arts for All Loudoun.

“We don’t actually ask about anybody’s disability,” said Huyen MacMichael, DaVinci director. “If they share, that’s awesome. Most of the time, we just take everyone as-is.”

The theater program casts everyone over the age of eight who auditions. No one is asked to disclose their disability status, and no one is turned away.

“Not all disabilities are visual. Not all special needs are visual,” Amanda said. “You don’t know what’s going on in somebody’s brain.” She says people come to Arts for All, because they have a need for what the organization offers.

“Whether it be crippling anxiety, ADHD, or they have Aspergers and just need a better way to make friends, we really don’t look at them as just their disability,” Amanda said. “We look at them as a person that’s coming to this community for a reason. And we’re going to accept them for that.”

Huyen became director of the DaVinci Fine Arts Program in 2017. She has a masters degree in art therapy, and started working with the program as a volunteer.

“A lot of the work that we do is more like art as therapy,” she said. “We’re very focused on the process. We do it to connect with each other.”

The DaVinci program started with just one student (who still attends classes today, over twenty years later). Now DaVinci has two regular groups, one of which often sees over a dozen participants.

“There are a lot of people that are new to the arts,” Huyen said. “We have one of our participants who had never drawn before. And her first time she finished drawing a picture, she was so excited.”

While Huyen says there are many day programs for children with disabilities, after graduation, options for adults are scarce and the waitlists are long. The programs at Arts for All Loudoun help fill the gap. It’s an important outlet for the participants, and gives the caregivers of those with higher support needs a chance to run errands or take a break.

“It offers the participants something, it offers the families something,” Huyen said. “I’m glad that it serves the community so well.”

Both the arts and theater programs work hard to keep costs low, so the programs can be accessible to all participants. In 2023, the spring theater class was less than $100 for participants, and art classes were only $10 per session. Grants and donations help make this possible.

Amanda has been a part of Arts for All since the age of 8, participating in shows while her mother worked as a choreographer for the group. After getting her bachelor’s degree in theater at Radford University she returned as a director.

“Ultimately, my goal is to give our participants the most professional experience possible. Because they don’t necessarily have the opportunity to partake in mainstream professional shows,” Amanda said. “[But at Arts for All Loudoun] they’re getting the support they need from everyone around them. It’s really just incredible.”

The music directors often come from a background in music therapy, and choreographers adapt dances so they can be done by everyone, often focusing more on arm movements to include actors in wheelchairs or with limited mobility.

They even get support from the adaptive recreation program specialist for Loudoun County, who helps any participants who might be struggling. If actors or audience members struggle with sensory issues, the organization provides tools like fidget toys or noise-blocking headphones to help.

“It’s just the most positive environment you can be in,” Amanda said. “You can walk into rehearsal and you could be having the worst day ever. And your participants will come up and hug you and tell you how excited they are to be there.”

One of the most memorable comments she’s ever received, she says, came from a family who had never seen an Arts for All production before. They told her they had no idea any of the cast had special needs until they read the program at intermission.

“That’s what we strive to do,” she said. “We want people to look at them as who they are – not for their disabilities.”

Since 2023, the group of MainStreet Bank employees have continued to support the organization, donating a total of $11,000 since the inception of the Making Change giving program.

“If they would just go to one show and just see how amazing it is,” said the MainStreet Bank employee. “That’s all they have to do.”