FREE Players

The FREE Players performing 'Thriller'

The FREE Players is implemented under the direct supervision of Jim Sisto, Artistic Director of Day Habilitation of Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE). Rehearsals for the shows begin with four hours per week, expanding to over eight hours per week until the show is ready. The popularity of our shows required us to seek a larger theatre space, so we are now using the Commack Jewish Center & Theater Three in Port Jefferson, NY. Sets, costumes, lighting and sound equipment are provided by donations and many community and family members volunteer their time to make the costumes and sets, working along side our employees and consumers.

Goals and Objectives
Participants will increase their socialization skills by the end of each performance, thereby decreasing social isolation.

Each participant will have increased confidence, as evidenced by performing on stage in front of an audience.

The performances of the yearly production will be open to the general public, helping to educate mainstream New York regarding people with mental challenges, thereby decreasing the stigma associated with people with mental challenges.

The troupe will perform in the larger community on invitation, also helping to educate others regarding people with mental challenges.

As parents, the most heart-warming part is at the end of each performance, when the stage lights are turned up, the "We Are the Champions" song is playing, and the performers begin taking their bows. Their faces reflect levels of joy and personal satisfaction that is remarkable, and leaves few dry eyes in the house. FREE Players works for the consumers, their families, and everyone who has the good fortune to attend a performance.

Joseph F.

Read What People are Saying

Through the rehearsals and presentations of full-length musicals and comedies, our consumers have grown in many ways. Aside from the social development that is a natural outgrowth of a project of this nature, many individuals who are normally withdrawn and detached, unable to even make eye contact with others, are able to perform and look directly into the eyes of the audience with confidence and pride. Incredibly, something about being in the play allows consumers to be able to control their symptoms.

Another benefit of the FREE Players is that participants are trained in lighting, sound, orchestration, and as stage technicians according to preference and skills. Most important is the fact that our very special cast members experience the best feeling of all: a sense of accomplishment after working many long, hard months in preparation for those few hours on the stage, and in knowing they have played key roles in educating our community.