A Special Theater Troupe
For nearly 30 years, the Jesters — a group of actors with mild to moderate mental and physical disabilities — have entertained and enriched audiences in Fort Wayne, Ind. In "The Jesters 'Can Do It,'" Emma Downs of The Journal Gazette displays a fine eye and ear as she tells their inspiring story. Listen as she describes how a young drummer produces an intricate rhythm with nothing more than his hands and a desk top:
Using every inch of his hands, he creates a thundering solo on top of the desk – palms acting as bass drums, the tips of his index fingers like goose-neck cymbals, brushing out a nimble rhythm on an imaginary high-hat. The beat is complex, colorful, filled with the intricate lacework of someone with a preternatural understanding of time.
A big thanks to Dan Stockman for recommending this story.
http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/LOCAL/710280450