NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Estelle Condra will weave inspirational and humorous
stories about her personal challenges with a hereditary eye disease when she performs Blind People Shouldn’t Vacuum at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music. The three-act show, which will be in the Turner Recital Hall, is a benefit for the Ada Belle Stapleton/Blanche Henry Weaver Scholarship Fund at Vanderbilt.
Condra said that she has been performing “this irreverent comedy with an important message” for five years around the country, but this is the first time in Nashville. She has lost her eyesight gradually and completely as a result of retinitis pigmentosa. “I want to make sure that people understand the challenges that you go through with a disability and how the vehicle to help you cope is laughter.”
The show opens with Condra carrying a vacuum cleaner that has picked up everything but the dust. “I feel that with any problem, if you expose it to laughter, it is like exposing a seed to light. It becomes a wonderful plant,” she said. “In similar fashion, laughter helps us grow and deal with our challenges.”
Condra has enjoyed a diverse career in theatre arts, performing with acting companies in South Africa, England and the United States. These include the Nashville Children’s Theatre and Tennessee Repertory Theatre.
She also has been deeply involved with teaching, writing and speaking about her
experiences. Her works include Caged, an autobiographical dramatic monologue, and Vibrations of Laughter, the story of Annie Sullivan. In addition, she authored See the Ocean, which made the American Booksellers Association’s “Pick of the List” in 1994.
The Vanderbilt Woman’s Club is sponsoring the performance to benefit a scholarship in memory of Ada Bell Stapleton, the first dean of women at Vanderbilt, and Blanche Henry Weaver, who served as dean of women, assistant professor of history, director of the Master of Arts in Teaching Program and assistant dean of the Graduate School. The club awards the scholarship to a current member of the sophomore or junior class who is an “outstanding citizen on campus.”
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $25. For information about advance and group ticket rates, email vuwomansclub@vanderbilt.edu. Free parking will be available in the South Garage at 24th Avenue South and Children’s Way.
Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu