Musical Theater and Projects
The Mei Li Project
In 1997, two little girls began attending one of my music classes at the old Swallow Hill Music School on S. Pearl St in Denver, Colorado. Their mother was delighted to find that I was also a professional nanny, and sought me out for the care of her daughters on a part-time basis. I grew to love this family, and a special bond formed between us.
Each of these children had been adopted from China and as they grew, I noticed an increasing curiosity toward this subject. They were very matter of fact about it, not distressed, but rather exhibiting a natural inquisitiveness.
I began to seek out plays or musical projects regarding this subject. There were many wonderful books, but nothing of a theatrical nature. I couldn’t find anything specifically relating to international adoption, and especially for the younger age group that my charges fell into.
So, I enth
usiastically jumped into this project, hoping to create something that could help my young charges and other children like them, as they continued on their life journey. Questions such as “where is my birth mother?” and “why do the people in my family all look different?” soon became the subjects of the songs in my ever-growing musical score.
As I have many friends who have adopted children from both China and Korea, I benefitted from the gift of their many stories. I learned so much from these different families, from both parents and from the children themselves. There is an extraordinary adoption agency in Centennial, Colorado called Chinese Children Adoption International, whom also allowed me to observe their Saturday educational program and speak with parents there. Putting together all of my research and passion for this subject, the project continued to grow and grow.
I brought playwright, Ross Mihalko, on board as my collaborator. He wrote a beautiful book to accompany the musical score I had composed. Together, the Mei Li Project was created.
With a first draft completed, we are hoping to move on to the next process in the near future. Getting feedback from others regarding our work will be valuable to us as we continue closer to a full production of this show.
But, this is not the end of the story for me. About 2 years ago, I began a nanny job caring for five children, the youngest who is adopted from China. Then, a year later, I began caring for yet another child, who was recently adopted from China as well.
It has been no coincidence that these children have come into my life. My experience of caring for each of them has sparked my enthusiasm to pursue this project vigorously, to tell their stories and those stories of other children like them!
If you are interested in more information about the Mei Li Project, contact: Cindy Wilkinson at wilkinsonca@msn.com
“I had the pleasure of working with Cindy at the Denver Center Theatre Academy. She is one of the most dedicated, motivated, and caring teachers I have come across in my work as a teaching artist! She brings incredible thought and energy to the classroom. She meets her students on a
level that challenges them, while allowing them their own freedom of expression. I have been witness to her teaching a small, shy group of children, who, by the end of their session, were jumping and singing right along with her.
Cindy is also a thoughtful collaborator. She works extremely
well in a team teachingsituation. In our time working together,
I was always excited to see what ideas she had. I was never disappointed. Cindy is a hard worker and she is a problem solver. She never gets discouraged and her enthusiasm is infectious to her students and colleagues.”Lindsay Taylor, Actress and Teaching Artist
New York, NY