Play targets stereotypes about mental retardation

When Marsh Island Stage Company director Carlene Hirsch quit her job assisting people with developmental disabilities, the clients threw a surprise party for her. They were so excited about the surprise party that they told her about it two weeks before it happened.

A similar scenario occurs in Tom Griffin’s play “The Boys Next Door,” the humorous and poignant story of four roommates who are developmentally disabled, but are helped along by their friend and caseworker, Jack. Hirsch is currently directing the show for Marsh Island Stage Company, and will offer a preview performance at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 2 to benefit the Orono Group Home and Treats Falls House in Orono.

Hirsch, who also teaches speech communications at the University of Maine, chose Griffin’s play because she felt it attempted to dissolve some of the stereotypes about people who have special needs. The play is a comedy, but it is also a commentary about the legal, emotional, and social issues of adults who are disabled.

Too frequently, said Hirsch, people with mental retardation are lumped together with those who have more severe and debilitating illnesses.

“Being mentally handicapped means seeing the same things as the non-disabled population, just differently,” said Hirsch.

For this reason, Hirsch discouraged her actors from developing affectations for their characters. She would have liked the cast to visit group homes or mental-health institutions to study behavioral traits firsthand. But most institutions have confidentiality rules, so Hirsch relied on her own professional background to educate her actors.

“The Boys Next Door” by Tom Griffin will be performed at 8 p.m. May 3-6 and May 11-13 at the Ram’s Horn on Grove Street in Orono. Admission to the May 2 preview is free, but patrons are invited to offer a donation. For reservations, call 827-2917.