SENSE Theatre, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and University School of Nashville will present Mergatroid and the Candy Store March 7-8 at 7 p.m. at the Belmont University Black Box Theatre on Compton Ave.
These performances are the capstone of a theatre camp for children with autism, a novel intervention program using theatre to teach reciprocal communication skills. The production will feature 17 participants with autism and is part of a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.
Written by Blythe Corbett, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry, and directed by Catherine Coke with music by Ed Bazel and Tammy Vice and lyrics by Corbett, Mergatroid and the Candy Store is the story of a curious boy who longs for a real friend. By escaping into tasty temptation, his imaginary friend makes him visible as his dream comes to life.
Admission is free.