Create Fair: Explorers Seize Their Moment in the Spotlight

For nearly 40 years, the East End Special Players have brought their imaginations to life on stage, working together to write original plays and musicals that empower and inspire them and their audiences.

But within the troupe — and, in some cases, outside of it — there exists an equally talented, yet lesser-known group. And they call themselves The Explorers.

Launched in 2014, the program offers weekly cooking classes, art making, field trips and other creative learning projects for its participants, who all have developmental disabilities of varying degrees, among them Down syndrome, autism, bipolar disorder, and hearing and sight loss — as is true for the East End Special Players, explained Artistic Director Jacqui Leader.

“We have some Players that are in both groups, and then we have others that don’t care to act,” she explained, “so they just come to The Explorers.”

On Saturday afternoon, they will showcase their own set of artistic abilities during the inaugural “Create Fair” at the Southampton Art Center’s plein air space — an event featuring drumming, painting, storytelling, culinary arts, mural drawing, photography, and more.

“It’s just an opportunity, really, for the public to see a window into their lives and their personalities,” Leader said. “They’ll be there participating and they’re very talented.”

While the full group comprises 16 Explorers, about 13 regularly attend and range in age from 22 to nearly 40, Leader said. The program has grown organically by word of mouth, she said, and though they have never hosted an event like Create Fair, this is not their first artistic outing.

In 2020, with the guidance of artist Patricia Maurides, The Explorers published “Seeing Happiness,” a book of original photographs capturing places that brought them joy, shot with disposable cameras. The photos have been on view twice already and the book will be available for purchase at Create Fair, Leader said, which is drawing questions from The Explorers and Players alike.

“I think they’re very excited about it — and, for them, it’s new, too,” she said. “They’ve never done it. So they keep asking, ‘But what is it? What are we doing?’ I said, ‘It’s like a fair. You’re going to be walking around, you can do the art projects, too, but other kids might want to join in and make a clay project or a photography project.’ It’ll be fun.”

For the grand finale, the Players will perform a scene from their newest play, “Turtles On the Tarmac,” which they wrote over the course of two years via Zoom during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In December, they will stage the full production at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.

“There’s a scene in the play where all the planes get canceled because of a nor’easter, and so they decide to put on a talent show at the Moonlight Lounge, because everyone is so grumpy and frustrated,” Leader said. “Miss Tipsy decides to put on her own talent show and so she invites people to perform, and that’s then what our audience will see.”

Five of the Explorers will also read an excerpt from “The Boy, the Horse, the Fox and the Mole” by Charlie Mackesy, an illustrated story that offers hope in uncertain times. It follows the tale of a curious boy, a greedy mole, a wary fox and a wise horse who must navigate difficult terrain, sharing their greatest fears and biggest discoveries about vulnerability, kindness, hope and friendship — not unlike the East End Special Players themselves, Leader explained.

In it, the boy says to the mole, “Sometimes I feel lost.” To that, his friend replies, “Me too, but we love you, and love brings you home.”

It is this same message that Leader passes on to her students.

“The horse says, ‘When the dark clouds come, keep going. When the big things feel out of control, focus on what you love right under your nose,’” Leader read aloud. “The storm will pass, and it’s passing. I think that’s a really good way to think about it when you’re feeling downtrodden, like, ‘Oh man, things have changed so much.’ Yeah, they have, but there are new things on the horizon.”

Create Fair, highlighting the work of The Explorers program, will be held on Saturday, September 24, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Southampton Art Center’s plein air space. Admission is free. Rain date is October 15. For more information, visit eastendspecialplayers.org.