Tourettaville performance at P.S. 59 (Jonny's school) in New York City; May 23, 2001

THIS IS A NEW YORK SUCCESS STORY
A celebration of a triumph of the spirit:
A triumph of a New York City public school, which brought a special level of compassion and caring to a talented little New York boy with a condition known as Tourette Syndrome.

Introduction - Chronology-ville

The Story
The Play
Awards

INTRODUCTION - Chronology-ville

October 1999: June/Jonny write T'ville script. Music added, piece in workshop
May 2000: 1st reading at Borders, for TSA/NYW annual meeting
October 2000: Selected winner by VSA Arts, mounted at Kennedy Center
November 2000: Performed at TSA national convention, Alexandria, Va.
May 2001: Performed at P.S. 59 in New York City
May/June 2001: Designated Tourette Awareness Month

December 14, 2001: District Health Coordinator meeting of the New York City Board of Education. Performed at the Academy of Medicine.

JONNY'S STORY
by June Rachelson-Ospa

My son, Jonny Ospa was an outgoing, extremely bright and funny kid. From out of the blue, at age 5, Jonny began to blink, roll his shoulders and neck, and shout out strange words - uncontrollable at home and at school. He became alienated and very insecure. His teachers were stumped by his behavior. His classmates thought he was not like the same old Jonny. I knew that something was terribly wrong and I needed to help my child. I took him to various kinds of doctors, but nothing seemed to be wrong. I ushered him to a psychiatrist who said "Jonny is OK, but the problem stems from you and your husband."

Finally, I found a specialist, a neurologist who gave me the truth, "Jonny has Tourette Syndrome." At last, we had an answer. Jonny and I let out a sigh of relief..."it's nothing fatal" , but there is no cure. Within time I joined NY Chapter of TS and became a board member and was elected to become secretary. I attended a NY based TS support Group and learned a great deal of valuable information and also learned that people could lead productive lives with Tourette Syndrome.

This mind-boggling diagnosis opened a door for Jonny and me. There was solace in knowing that he had "something" and that we wasn't going crazy. His schoolteachers, principal and fellow students began to understand his problem, rallied their forces and created a productive and happy learning environment for him. PS 59 set up a special program for Jonny. The school provided him with an occupational therapist, an on site evaluation, a social worker and … kindness. In fact PS 59, a New York public school, did all that a private specialized school could do - and more.

THE PLAY: It started when Jonny's teacher asked him to write about his experience with Tourette Syndrome. He discussed this with me and I asked if he'd like to create a musical play about TS. He said he'd love to! And we did. Together we created a story about a boy like Jonny, who Jonny called Mark, who discovered he had Tourette Syndrome. Mark became a kind of fictional twin for Jonny where he could work out and heal his own feelings about having Tourette Syndrome. In the musical Mark discovers a magical place called Tourettaville. There he comes face to face with aliens Tick, Blinky, Screamer and their leader the Big Bleeper. They befriend Mark inspiring him to self-acceptance and a new self-confidence which he travels back to the "Planet Earth of Course" with. Jonny called the play "Welcome to Tourettaville".

Daniel Neiden, Jody Gray and Doug Katsaros have created the music, including the Tourettaville National Anthem, a song called "One of a Kind You". When Jonny met legendary New Orleans music icon "Dr. John", he was so moved by his story that he recorded "One Of A Kind You" for Jonny. Bob Dylan's bass player and members from Saturday Night Live joined the band.

PERFORMANCES "Welcome to Tourettaville" was performed in October, 2000 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC for an audience of Congressional members and the public. Other performances were at the National Tourette Syndrome Convention in Alexandria, Virginia in November 2000, and at the National Tourette Syndrome Chapter's annual Meeting in February 2001 at New York's West Bank Cafe. On May 23rd its first performance was at PS 59.
See June Rachelson-Ospa's speech at the performance that day.

On December 14, 2001, the show was performed before the New York City Board of Education's District Health Coordinators.
See the letter from the NYC Board of Ed audience written afterwards.