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Valentine's Day at the Roxy

From: Long Haul Productions
Length: 00:05:11

A profile of the annual Valentine's Day dance at the Roxy, a one-of-a-kind club that caters to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. Read the full description.

Default-piece-image-2 Host Intro (not on tape): Each year, there's a Valentine?s Day dance at a nightclub in Lockport, Illinois ? about an hour south of Chicago. What makes this particular Valentine?s dance unique is that the Roxy caters exclusively to people with mental illness or who are developmentally disabled or both. It?s private and may be the only club of its kind in the nation. Roxy customers drink soda or coffee, socialize, dance, or just hang out?without self-consciousness or the fear of discrimination. There?s music and sometimes dancing and, inevitably ,some of the regulars get together and fall in and out of love Producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister have this audio vignette. Tape 5:11 (music at end for back announce) Back announce: Our story on Valentine?s Day at the Roxy was produced by Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister for Long Haul Productions. For more Long Haul stories, go to www.longhaulpro.org

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Piece Description

Host Intro (not on tape): Each year, there's a Valentine?s Day dance at a nightclub in Lockport, Illinois ? about an hour south of Chicago. What makes this particular Valentine?s dance unique is that the Roxy caters exclusively to people with mental illness or who are developmentally disabled or both. It?s private and may be the only club of its kind in the nation. Roxy customers drink soda or coffee, socialize, dance, or just hang out?without self-consciousness or the fear of discrimination. There?s music and sometimes dancing and, inevitably ,some of the regulars get together and fall in and out of love Producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister have this audio vignette. Tape 5:11 (music at end for back announce) Back announce: Our story on Valentine?s Day at the Roxy was produced by Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister for Long Haul Productions. For more Long Haul stories, go to www.longhaulpro.org

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Review of Valentine's Day at the Roxy

Sorry I'm a little late on this one. This piece, however, should not be ignored because of its time specificity. It's an audio vignette of mentally ill participants in an annual Valentine's day dance event. We hear men and women talk about love,life, and how they plan their lives around someone else. You and I may have our own perceptions of what mentally ill people feel for the opposite sexes, and if we find this piece 'revealing,' we should be a little ashamed of ourselves.

Broadcast History

Aired on Day to Day and Chicago Public Radio in 2006.

Related Website

http://www.longhaulpro.org