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A one-person show written and performed by Lyle Victor Albert

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Scraping the Surface is an autobiographical one-man show, written and performed as a monologue by Canadian playwright/performer Lyle Victor Albert -- "Vic." Vic shares his experiences as a teenager with cerebral palsy.

For Vic, the seemingly simple act of shaving becomes a turning point in accepting his cerebral palsy and pushing himself and his physical abilities. The challenge of shaving propels Vic to explore growing pains common to teenagers: parents, high school, and decisions about life after high school.

"To shave...or not to shave..." Doesn't seem like a life-altering dilemma. But for Vic, "shaving isn't just a function of good personal grooming...it's an adventure." Because Vic is no ordinary guy...Vic is "jumpy." With great skill and good humor, Scraping the Surface leads us into the world of a young man with cerebral palsy as he wrestles with the age old problem of "what to do with the rest of my life." Join performer/playwright Lyle Victor Albert in this hilarious personal account of the challenges and victories that are part and parcel of the process of stepping into adulthood and discovering both who we are and who we would like to be.

Lyle Victor Albert is the author of Ba Ha Ha, Waves, White on White, Wheelie, Cut!, and The Prairie Church of Buster Galloway.

His first play, The Prairie Church of Buster of Galloway, was the winner of the 1982 Alberta Culture Playwriting Award, and was produced by Northern Light Theatre in Edmonton the following year. He subsequently adapted the play for a CBC Television production in 1985. His latest play, Scraping the Surface, was the 1996 winner of Edmonton's Sterling Award for Outstanding New Play.

Vic has been Playwright in Residence for Northern Light Theatre and Theatre Network in Edmonton. He is currently working on a new play, Exit Laughing.

What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral refers to the brain, and palsy to a disorder of movement or posture. CP is a life-long disability, caused by damage to the developing brain before, during, or just after birth which affects muscle control, movement, and speech.

Spastic refers to sudden involuntary spasms of a muscle. It is not appropriate, or accurate, to refer to someone with CP as spastic. Muscles are spastic; people are not.

Congential describes a disability exisiting since birth. Not necessarily hereditary. The term birth defect is inappropriate.

Mental Disability is used to describe conditions where the manner in which the brain has developed affects a person's way of learning. This can be the result of many factors such as heredity, injury and disease. Each individual is affected differently and responds uniquely.

Self Advocacy is a movement based on emphasizing ability. It promotes people with disabilities (particulary mental disabilities) speaking for themselves and advocating for their own needs and rights.

Disability is a condition that affects a person's way of moving, seeing, hearing, learning, and communicating. It is often incorrectly interchanged with the word handicapped. A handicap is a barrier that prevents someone from reaching a goal. For example, a person using a wheelchair wants to go to the beach but curbs, speed bumps and stairs make this goal unattainable.

To learn more about cerebral palsy and other disabilities, click on the links below:

National Arts and Disabilities Center (NADC) is an information, resource and training center dedicated to promoting the full inclusion of children and adults with disabilities into the visual-, performing-, media-, and literary- arts communities. The site includes links to many related arts, disability, and personal home pages.

To learn more information about children with disabilities, click on the links below:

The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) is the national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. Their special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22).

The Children With Disabilities web site offers families, service providers, and other interested individuals information about advocacy, education, employment, health, housing, recreation, technical assistance, and transportation covering a broad array of developmental, physical, and emotional disabilities.

To learn more information about children and adults with disabilities in the arts, click on the links below:

VSA Arts (formerly Very Special Arts) is an international organization that creates learning opportunities through the arts for people with disabilities. The organization offers arts-based programs in creative writing, dance, drama, music and the visual arts" which are implemented through its state and international affiliates. Its web site includes an extensive online gallery and database of related online resources, as well as information about the program and its affiliates.

Arts and the "Disabled Community" includes issues of Arts and Access as well as general arts therapy resources, specific areas of disability, as well as resources for specific arts disciplines. This website was created for The Colorado Council on the Arts, with funding from The National Endowment for the Arts, as a gift to the world community.

Creativity Explored provides adults with disabilities the opportunity to express themselves through the creation of art. This site strives to heighten community awareness and appreciation of the value and diversity of artistic expression.

National Institute of Art & Disabilities (NIAD) mission is to provide an art program for people with developmental disabilities that promotes creative expression, independence, dignity and community integration.

American Art Therapy Association provides general information about art therapy and the association for students and professionals.

Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Worldwide (AMFPA) is a dynamic, multilingual site offering information about the association, biographical portraits of the artists, an online gallery, and a member-only chat.

National Coalition of Arts Therapies Associations is a coalition of organizations including the American Association for Music Therapy, the American Art Therapy Association, the American Dance Therapy Association, the National Association for Drama Therapy, the American Society for Group Psychotherapy & Psychodrama, and the National Association for Poetry Therapy.

National Disability Arts Forum, a British based organization, provides a directory of disability arts groups throughout Europe.