Allen County’s nonprofit arts organizations provide crucial opportunities for our residents. The arts are central to communal gathering, growing, and healing—and as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to prevent many of our most vulnerable audiences from meeting in person, these nonprofits pivoted to find ways to continue to deliver high-quality, life-changing experiences to our citizens.

The University of Saint Francis (USF) Jesters program uses multi-disciplinary performing arts to enhance quality of life for people with mild to severe intellectual/developmental disabilities. Individuals participate in arts education activities to help them develop self-expression, self-esteem, socialization, and other life skills.

Over 20 weeks from September to March every year, teaching artists and participants work together to co-create an original multi-disciplinary performance that is relevant to participants’ lives and highlights performers’ strengths. But, because of COVID-19, not all participants in the 2021­—2022 Jesters program could meet in person, disrupting the model they’d thrived on for more than 20 years.

Jesters organizers knew this program provided critical connectivity and development to participants, and that a year off was not in the best interest of the lives of those individuals. That’s why they adapted to a hybrid model, allowing those who were not able to meet in person to join virtually.

Through a combination of group activities and one-on-one attention, Jesters participants and teaching artists worked together to create All in Awe, presented at USF on March 12 and 13. The multi-disciplinary performance explored the historical figure of Saint Francis and Franciscan values as classic video game characters. Virtual participants were represented through video and audio recordings integrated throughout the show.

“Co-creation is the key to the program's success. Inviting participants to generate ideas, concepts, storylines, musical compositions, choreography, dialogue, and visual art gets them fully invested and is the backbone of the program. As Director, my job is to cultivate willingness and trust, build confidence, help participants make choices, and encourage them to share the spotlight. There are no single super stars in our shows. It takes everyone's ideas and all of us working together to produce the magic that is the Jesters.”

– Allison Ballard, Jesters Director

We are inspired by your resiliency and commitment to program participants. Thank you, University of Saint Francis Jesters, for uplifting our community!