The B-Inspired Performing Arts Group has a new facility and a brand-new board.
The theatre group first formed last year, performing in a few plays with the A-Spire Players group. This year, they’ve become their own cast with a new board, and they’ll be rehearsing and performing at Minerva Hall. The performing group is completely inclusive and currently has 10 members from the Gimli and Arborg areas.
Alan Bann, board member of the B-Inspired Performing Arts Group, got the idea for an accessible, inclusive group when a bowler on his Special Olympics team asked if there was a theatre group for people with intellectual disabilities. After searching online and not finding a local group like that, Bann decided they could start their own—so they did.
“It’s a group for people with intellectual disabilities but anyone can join,” he said. “We want our group to be accepting.”
Bann said what makes the B-Inspired Performing Arts Group different from other theatre groups is they’re able to take the time the cast members need to perform their best. Where other groups may be on a fast-paced, tight schedule, they can slow down and take longer to rehearse.
“There’s more training that goes into it,” he said. “We have a couple people that can’t read so we work with them to read their lines. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes.”
Bann began writing a play last September that the group is now rehearsing, with the goal of performing it this fall. The play is about a woman with special needs, how she was treated as she grew up, and how that affected her as she got older. It starts in the 1970s, follows her through time, and chronicles her interactions and adventures with her friends in a band.
“We had one lady that talks really soft, and I wanted her to find her voice,” said Bann. “The play just came from that.”
He said rehearsals have been going well so far, with the group getting better each day. Though they initially planned to perform the play in June, Bann said they kept getting more ideas and decided if they were going to do it, they’d do it right, so they pushed the performance date back.
The B-Inspired Performing Arts Group’s new board has seven members, five of whom are part of the upcoming play. Their duties will include registering the group’s name, planning fundraisers, managing finances, acquiring lights, sound and other equipment, and more.
“Our group, we just wanted for our people to be able to shine,” said Bann. “One gentleman is a natural born actor, and how would he have ever brought that out before? It’s just about treating everybody equal.”
