Here are the pieces we perform. Approximate running times and short descriptions are given.

The Project is appropriate for most gatherings and audiences. We draw upon our ever-expanding repertoire to put together the most appropriate material and presentation for each group.

For more detailed information about any of these pieces, please e-mail uppityco@aol.com.

We also offer:
- post-show discussions
- study guides for every level of education, from elementary school through college
- disability awareness training in the workplace

Some areas of focus include:
- history of disability
- kinds of disability
- disability etiquette

Please call the box office to discuss the pieces in more detail.

All video clips on this page are in Windows Media Player format. Click the play button to view video embedded on this webpage or click the "launch external player" to view directly in Windows Media Player.

"Welcome to Our World"

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Please note: all running times listed are approximate.

ASTHMA - 5 minutes
A piece in which an adult asthmatic revisits childhood experiences, resistance to treatment and eventual coming to terms with this condition and taking proper care of oneself. Done in comic style, in addition to a central protagonist, it includes actors portraying lungs and heart.

ATTENDANT CARE-WHAT A SCARE - 7.5 minutes
Three people with disabilities recount their trials and tribulations in trying to find attendant care. Featured highlights include cameo appearances by various "attendants from hell" including a 95 year old who cannot weight transfer, an obsequious aid who is condescending and a judgmental aid who doesn't believe people with disabilities should have a private life. Performed in slaptick style, this piece humorously depicts real life situations with which people with disabilities must contend all too often.

BEYOND SADNESS - 4 minutes
Depression is a widespread yet misunderstood condition that can be debilitating. This piece involving both text and expressive movement debunks myths about solutions to depressions and offers deeper insight into its many challenges.

CLUB MED - 5 minutes
A short travelogue delivered in stand up comic style (or in this case, it is sitting down!) An ensemble member, who has been hospitalized for a urinary tract infection retells his tale as if it were a visit to Club Med(icine). Highlights include references to hospital food, nurses, physical therapists and x-rays.

COFFEEHOUSE - 5 minutes
Several people in wheelchairs recount their desire to enter a coffeehouse in St. Louis that is not accessible. The piece tells the story of their efforts to convince the owners to make it accessible and the exciting world they encounter when they finally are allowed in. Performed in conjunction with able-bodied performers who physically depict barriers and solutions, the piece is an excellent instruction of the importance of accessibility and the Americans Disabilities Act (ADA).

DR./DOCTOR - Time TBD
An exploration of the challenges and disappointments in a relationship between a doctor and a patient as both struggle with needs that cannot always be met and situations for which there are not always answers.

EMPLOYMENT - Time 4-8 minutes
An interactive piece about a young woman using a wheelchair who comes to a crowded department store looking for a job. While the overworked sales person wants to hire her, her manager doesn't think it's possible. The cast and audience work together to find several solutions to this dilemma. A crowd pleaser for all kinds of audiences.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE - 3.5 minutes
Using the popular song by Sly and the Family Stone, the entire ensemble dance and sing, depicting people at play and demonstrating that we are all , indeed, "Everyday People." A real crowd pleaser.

FACTS & FIGURES - 2 minutes
The entire ensemble alternately recites facts that represent societal attitudes toward disability throughout history as well as demeaning figures of speech.  Frequently used to begin our shows, this piece is an eye-opener for many audiences. 

GO FIGURE - 7.5 minutes
As alternately narrated between an able bodied man and a woman with quadriplegia, this piece comically, profoundly and humorously explores a young woman's search for her femininity following a catastrophic car accident. It includes anecdotes about dating, taking out personal ads and the ultimate fears and joys of establishing an intimate, romantic and physical relationship with a male partner. The story of how a disabled woman finds the love of her life, this piece is explicit without being graphic and is an all time audience favorite.

("Go Figure" was highlighted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Special Section on The Americans With Disabilities Act, Sept. 3-5, 2000. ADA Special Section)

GOTTA MOVE - 4 minutes
Set to music by pop artist Prince, this piece joyfully depicts dancing with a group of disabled and non-disabled adults. It celebrates movement of all kinds, emphasizing the beauty of what is possible.

HEALING MINISTRIES - 10 minutes
A hilarious yet tasteful send up of the tele-evangelists who try to bilk people out of money and suggest the medieval model that disability is caused by immorality. An audience favorite. It is a satirized version of a real life experience of an ensemble member.

HELLO - 4 minutes
In this humorous and ultimately moving and eye opening piece, a young child notices a person using a wheelchair while accompanying her mother to a unisex beauty salon. Her curiosity naturally peaked, the child wants to meet and visit the unusual stranger but is admonished to be silent and still. While the mother gets a manicure, the child and person using a wheelchair begin to develop a budding friendship. Ultimately the mother is shamed by a recognition of her own fears and prejudices. This piece was developed at the request of many audiences who repeatedly asked about the propriety of communicating with a person who has a disability.

MIRROR, MIRROR - 3 minutes
Facing the audience who functions as a spectatorial mirror, the performers repeat a sequence - first in gibberish, then in English - speaking candidly about some aspect of their physicality. As their individual disclosures range from trivial to profound, we understand the universal challenge of self-esteem. The highly moving piece concludes as each performer expresses love and acceptance for themselves.

MIRRORING - 5 minutes
In pairs, the entire ensemble conveys early morning activities like combing their hair and brushing their teeth. Performed seamlessly in slow motion, the piece calls attention to the commonality of preparation to begin one's day, irrespective of individual physicality. It concludes with the ensemble reciting a chorus of "We are of you. We are among you. We are you. Do not be afraid", as they move into the audience. Frequently performed as our final piece, audiences usually find it very moving.

MOTHER MAY I? - 3 minutes
One of the strongest and least explored issues in the field of disability is the highly charged area of parent/child relationships. Set to evocative, original vocal and keyboard orchestration by Karen Werner, this piece explores the bonds of maternal love, the desire for an adult child to assert her independence and the shifting nature of roles.

MY BODY - 3 minutes 
In this movement piece, both people using wheelchairs and those who are ambulating move slowly through a dreamscape to music and lyrics by Karen Werner about the mystery and complexity of the body.  Periodically, they stop and notice the people with whom they inhabit the planet. 

OPEN THE KINGDOM - 3-4 minutes
Set to music and lyrics by Philip Glass, this highly theatrical movement piece symbolically represents the struggles of many people with disabilities to be allowed to assume their rightful place in society.  Characters include an opera singer, warrior/wanderer, and an enigmatic figure that moves within a paper bag. 

PARKING - 5 minutes
A highly theatrical depiction of the dilemma of parking for persons with disabilities that focuses on the use and abuse of disabled parking spaces.

PET STORIES - Time TBA
A delightful piece that shows adult ensemble members depicting both pets and pet owners in a variety of settings. The moral of the story and its tag line is: "Just like you do, we love our pets, too!"

WAITING - 5 minutes
Set in the configuration of a typically crowded doctor's office, the ensemble waits and begins to fidget. Their restlessness moves into the realm of fantasy and they begin to enact various scenarios including dancing and playing baseball. A highly imaginative, non-verbal piece, that emphasizes a fascinating range of physicality within the ensemble, Waiting, uses music by acclaimed composer Philip Glass as played by the Kronos Quartet.

WAKING IN THE FOREST - 5.5 minutes
An improvisation for the ensemble in which they slowly awaken and then explore and connect with other beings. Set to classical music as played by acclaimed musician Yo-Yo Ma, this non-verbal piece emphasizes a fascinating range of movements within the ensemble.

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW - 4 minutes
An ensemble dance piece that ultimately draws the audience in to sing along, this piece uses the popular number as sung by Dionne Warwick to spread a message of love among all people.

WHY AM I PRAYING? - 3 minutes
Set to the simple, melodic music by the Roche Sisters, several performers create a silent tableau in which they pray separately representing a range of religious practices. At one point they come out of their private reveries to notice the potential for community around them, before resuming their individual experiences.

YOU NEVER KNOW - 3 minutes
In a funny twist on a competitive face off, two people compare the differences between being born with and acquiring a disability. An excellent brief introduction to various kinds of disability including physical and cognitive.