Hopatcong High School Freshman Daniel Anastasia has the imagination and gift of a creative story-teller. He creates and develops characters with supernatural powers who capture the essence of good and evil and are as colorful as one could possibly imagine! During the summer of 2014, Daniel began writing his newest creation, Dragon Girl. At the same time Mrs. Carol McGlynn (Daniels teacher) presented Daniels work to Mr. Michael Batche (Theatrical Set and Lighting Director) who restructured his story into a play format, and Mr. Joseph Ross (Drama Director) to transform Daniels story into a dramatic play to be performed by the fifth period Theater Arts students. The most remarkable part of this whole production is Daniel himself. Daniel has a rare disease called Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome 2B which adversely affects neurodevelopment. Daniel cannot speak and has spent his life in a motorized wheelchair. He communicates through facial expressions, eye gaze and expresses his thoughts and ideas via the computer. Using the SmartNav/Clicker 6 computer programs Daniel creates his stories and now finally he will see one of his stories come to life! Daniel always maintains a positive attitude and has a great smile! He does not let his disability define him, rather he lives everyday to the fullest. His dreams of becoming a writer are coming to fruition with the help of the teachers and students of Hopatcong High! Dress rehearsal was held today with the formal performance on January 22, 2015 during the period five Theater Arts class time. Keep on the lookout for photos of next weeks performance. Great job Daniel!
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 20:42:03 +0000
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