The auditorium at Oceanside High School was filled with music, laughter and applause as students from across the district performed in the annual “Spotlight on the Stars” show, a production designed to celebrate inclusion and friendship through the arts.
Presented by the district’s Department of Media, Fine and Performing Arts, the March 5 performance — titled “Thank You For Being A Friend” — featured a lineup of musical numbers performed by both general-education and special-education students.
The songs spanned generations and genres, from Disney Channel favorites featured in “Camp Rock” and “Hannah Montana” to Broadway and movie classics including “For Good,” from “Wicked,” and “We Go Together,” from “Grease.”
For the students, the show was about much more than performing. “It’s a show where our students dance and sing, and everything is choreographed with the help of our student assistants,” said Laura Gallo, a theater teacher at the high school and a co-director of the program with theatre teacher Michelle Taplin. “Our general-education students help organize the numbers and work directly with the students in the program, which really motivates them. Having peers their own age dancing alongside them makes such a difference.”
Now in its 11th year, “Spotlight on the Stars” began with an idea Taplin had when she was a student at the high school. She was president of the school’s Best Buddies club, which connects students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, and envisioned a performance that would put the special-ed students at center stage.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we could do a show that features just them?” Gallo recalled Taplin asking during her senior year.
Although the idea didn’t come together before Taplin graduated in 2014, it took shape shortly afterward. The show, organized by Gallo, debuted the following year, and has grown steadily ever since.
What began as a high school production now includes middle-school performers as well, and the participants begin preparing months in advance. In Gallo’s dance and performance class, students start learning dance and choreography at the beginning of the school year. By December, they begin assembling the show’s musical numbers.
The show has a theme selected by the students. Past productions have showcased music from specific decades, from the 1950s through the 1990s. This year’s theme was friendship, which received strong support in a student vote.
“The class is growing, and more and more students want to work with these students,” Gallo said. “Many of them want to become special-education teachers or work with programs like Camp Anchor,” she added, referring to the popular Town of Hempstead program for those with special needs, “so they really enjoy working with this population. There’s a bond that forms every year.”
Senior Hannah Weiss, one of the student assistants who help choreograph the show, said that taking part in the program has been a transformative experience.
“I’ve always wanted to go into dance and dance education, so this felt like a natural path,” Weiss said. “But getting to interact with these students opened my eyes to how differently people learn and how differently they show their love. They’re so dedicated, and watching that is incredibly inspiring.”
Weiss said she hoped the audience would leave the performance with a deeper understanding of the power of the arts to bring people together. “The arts are
something everyone can benefit from,” she said. “They can bring everyone joy, no matter who you are or how involved
you are. There’s no limit on who can
participate.”
For Gallo, moments on stage often reveal just how meaningful the experience is for the students.
During this year’s show, she noticed one student — typically shy during rehearsals — suddenly bursting with excitement on stage.
“He was jumping up and smiling and dancing more than I’ve ever seen him,” Gallo said. “I’ve had him for six years, and something about this show just flipped a switch in him.”
Experiences like that are what keep the program growing, she said. Many students who are involved in other activities, like sports, marching band and dance team, take part in “Spotlight on the Stars” as well, even if they don’t normally perform in school theater productions.
“They want to work with these students,” Gallo said. “It’s the show that brings everyone together.”
Beyond the stage, the program has become a cherished tradition in the district. “We have a large special-education population in Oceanside,” Gallo said. “For a long time, there wasn’t something like this that was really geared toward them. They deserved their moment to shine.”
Today that moment draws enthusiastic audiences of families, students and school administrators, many of whom leave the theater moved. “I look out into the
audience at the end of the show and there are tears,” Gallo said. “You can’t watch these kids on stage and not leave smiling.”
Looking ahead, she said she hoped the program would continue to grow, and reach an even wider audience. “I just hope we’re not the best-kept secret in town anymore,” she said. “Anyone who sees this show leaves happy.”
