In this episode we take a look at three unique opportunities for expression in the community. First we visit with Jenny Maddox who works closely with the Front and Center Players, a talented group of Decatur County residents with disabilities. Founded in 2012, the Front and Center Players provides an opportunity for these individuals to find their voice and express themselves through a theatrical medium. We also speak with Linda Smith from the Arc of Decatur County, which provides assistance for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, about how the Front and Center Players provides opportunities for education and advocacy so that every single person in our community can be acknowledged and able to thrive.

Next we chat with Maya Effendi, owner and chef of Mayasari, the only Indonesian restaurant establishment in Indiana, and for a time even the Midwest. Maya brings authentic bold flavors from her personal experiences growing up in Bogor, Indonesia and talks about her dreams, signature dishes, and affinity for local fresh ingredients. We wrap up the episode with John Pratt, history teacher at Greensburg Community High School, to hear how he’s expanded on the concept of Chautauqua to engage students in their own talents and provide external inspiration in the form of various guest artists.


Andrew:
Welcome to Beyond the Tree Tower: Stories From Decatur County, Indiana. I'm your host, Andrew. Thank you for listening. We are listening to the Greensburg Community High School concert band perform Highway of Heroes under the direction of Jeff Moppin. On episode one of Beyond the Tree Tower, we looked at one of the most obvious stories in the county. On this episode, we will look at three highlights of the county that might be a surprise to those from outside the area. First, we check in with The Front And Center Players.

Jessica Reburger:
Because we got a bigger stage, and we have a curtain this year.

Andrew:
Then we'll sit down for a bite to eat with Maya at Mayasari.

Maya Effendi:
We find a bigger city, diversified population, and then he said, now here in Greensburg. Oh, they have baby, you're nuts.

Andrew:
And finally we'll check in with John Pratt at Greensburg High School about the upcoming Chautauqua.

John Pratt:
We've got a world class blues musician by the name of Mac Arnold.

Andrew:
It's all Beyond the Tree Tower. One of the many positive aspects of Decatur County is the vibrant community of individuals with disabilities. I checked in with The Front And Center Players as they prepare for their upcoming performance.

Jennifer Jakeman:
Welcome to Family Feud! Today...

Andrew:
It's early in the evening in the basement of the Tree County Player's building on West main street.

Jennifer Jakeman:
...and the Partridge family.

Andrew:
Assembled is a group of Decatur County residents with developmental disabilities. They call themselves the Front and Center Players.

Jennifer Jakeman:
Name a show from the 70s, with...

Jenny Maddox:
My name is Jenny Maddox and I am one of the co-directors of the Front and Center Players. We have the members of the Front and Center Players kind of let us know how they want to drive the show. We give them a theme every year and from that they build the show off of their idea of what that theme is.

Jenny Maddox:
All right, so Carrie's been working on some of the skits, so we talked about obviously our theme is seventies.

Jenny Maddox:
What we've tried to capture all these years is them expressing themselves, finding what is within themselves and expressing that through the variety show. It was really neat to go through the show yesterday and find that every single troop member has found their voice through this opportunity.

Andrew:
I spoke with some of the front and center players about their experience.

Derek Barnes:
Oh, my name is Derek Barnes and I am a singer. I'm stand out.

Jessica Reburger:
My name is Jessica Reberger and me...

Jessica Johatman:
Jessica Johatman.

Jennifer Jakeman:
and Jennifer Jakeman.

Jessica Reburger:
Are singing Delta Dawn.

Brad Keel:
My name's Brad Keel and I like to do Scooby Doo's voice. I can do the Scooby Doo voice really good.

Matthew Burkhart:
I'm Matthew Burkhart and I'm singing Old Time Rock and Roll.

Matthew Burkhart:
(singing) Just take those old records off the shelf, I'll sit and listen to them by myself. This music ain't got the same soul. I like that old time rock and roll.

Andrew:
I asked Jenny, how the front and center players got started.

Jenny Maddox:
So several years ago several of our parents that are active in the Arc of Decatur County just had a vision to be able to give individuals with disabilities other opportunities in performing arts and then being able to express themselves in that way.

Linda Smith:
I'm Linda Smith. For nine years I was president of the Arc of Decatur County, which is an organization devoted to providing assistance for people with developmental disabilities and their families. So that was where I got involved with the Front and Center Players. Decatur County has a very large Special Olympics program. Several sports are, and lots of participants in that program. But not everybody's cut out to do sports and there are people who need outlets for other talents. And it really took us until 2012 was the first year that the Front and Center Players actually did a performance.

Jenny Maddox:
So we had our first show. And from there it's just evolved. We saw the potential for individuals with disabilities to be able to express themselves and then they in turn have over the years realized the intent behind having something like the Front and Center Players.

Front and Center Players:
You left me. Oh, Sandy. Oh, Sandy, baby

Jenny Maddox:
So about two years ago, Carrie and I said we're having closed practices. We don't want staff members, we don't want family members, we don't want friends there. We want the show to be fresh for them and we want everyone part of the show to feel comfortable in expressing themselves. So the surprise for me was when we finally did that, it was a totally different dynamic during practices, that everybody felt free to express themselves and that we were free then to help them develop those skills and those talents.

Jenny Maddox & Front and Center Players:
Some of you are going to be the Bradys, and some of you are going to be the Partridge family. Bradys over here. Partridge family over here.

Andrew:
Part of Jenny's mission is to help educate the community about advocacy for individuals with disabilities. And that means continuing to learn herself.

Jenny Maddox:
Sometimes I have that feel good feeling, Oh, I'm helping people with disabilities. It's almost like it's type of a charity case and if I am a true advocate, I don't have those feelings and continue to grow and how I define advocacy to ensure that it is truly advocacy and not something different. And I had to look within myself, honestly, for a bit to look at how I was approaching them, even in the show. It's their show. And I wanted the show to be almost so perfect that I wasn't giving them the reigns to be able to just take the show and ad lib and it all come together. And so with just some of the additional training I've had professionally, I found last night especially with all of the ad libbing that was going on and it just came to life.

Front and Center Players:
That is really awesome.

Jenny Maddox:
Being a part of the variety show gives me an opportunity and just one more way to give an opportunity, but then also to educate. Our community is very accepting of people with disabilities, but I want it to go further than that. I want them to be an integral part of our community and be seen not with a label, but as a person.

Andrew:
Thanks to the hard work of people like Jenny, Decatur County has become a place where people with disabilities can thrive.

Jenny Maddox:
So it's not just about the opportunity, but about the perception with people disabilities and I think Decatur County in Greensburg should be very proud of how accepting they are and how supportive they are of the people that I'm privileged to serve and support.

Andrew:
One thing that is striking when you hang around with the Front and Center Players, this is a fun, great group of people. I asked them what they were excited about for the upcoming performance.

Derek Barnes:
[inaudible 00:08:26] would be coming. I also hope [inaudible 00:08:29] will be coming too. Yeah, I'm really excited my [inaudible 00:08:34] will be coming.

Brad Keel:
My dad, my sister Jane, my brother Mark, my sister in law, Tamra, and my step Cindy and her husband Frank.

Jennifer Jakemen:
My guardian, Kim Carr. I'm nervous to perform in front of her because I want her to be proud of me and I want her to think I can do well in this, because we've got a bigger stage and have a curtain this year. And people can't see us. We have to come out behind a curtain I think, and it's going to be more awesome, like we're going to be on a stage.

Jenny Maddox:
I am excited because the Front and Center Players have the most amazing opportunity to be on a true stage. My reached out to Tree County Players early this year. For me after all these years, again, my goal in individuals with disabilities, having the same opportunities as you or I, to me, this is the next best step for them, as true performers to be able to perform on a true stage.

Front and Center Players:
Stand out above the crowd, even if I've got to shout out loud, until mine is the only face you see.

John Pratt:
It's Monday, November 11th at six o'clock. This year we opted to not sell tickets so it is open to the public, free of charge, and we wanted to do that just to ensure that the variety show members had a comfort level on stage, wanted to see how it went. But our hope is and our goal, if everything is successful, the next year when we do the show that we'll actually be able to offer the show multiple nights with ticket sales.

Front and Center Players:
Until mine is the only face you see, got to stand out.

Andrew:
The Front and Center Players eighth annual performance will be Monday, November 11th at 6:00 PM at the Tree County Player's theater located at 634 West Main Street. Admission is free, sponsored by the Arc of Decatur County. A special thanks to the Front and Center Players, Jenny Maddox and Linda Smith for talking to me. And now, when thinking about signature foods for our area, there are some obvious candidates. On the first episode of Beyond the Tree Tower we talked tenderloin with Don at Stories, and then there's the great fried chicken available in the County, which we'll get into on the next episode of Beyond the Tree Tower, but quickly rising in the ranks of food associated with Greensburg, surprisingly enough, is Indonesian food. And that is thanks to one woman.

Maya Effendi:
Hello, my name is Maya, originally Mayasari Effendi, but most people call me Maya.

Andrew:
I stopped by Mayasari to hear about how some of the best Indonesian food available in the United States came to Greensburg.

Maya Effendi:
I was growing up in restaurant business in Indonesia. I live in Bogor around 60 kilometers South of Jakarta. And my grandma owned, starting with a small, they call it Soto Betawi, but she's a [foreign language 00:11:46] and then her business is growing and growing and then all of us, her grandchildren, have to help her.

Maya Effendi:
God loves me. So I think I'm just, I like it and I get that scholarship. And so when I came to Purdue, to Indiana, I just realized we didn't have an Indonesian restaurant. And the closest one that maybe we go to a Chinese restaurant, but it's not an Indonesian restaurant. It's totally different. I was working in one big company here in town like everybody else, you have a dream and then when you get the job, you hate your job. I said, Oh gosh, every morning at the six o'clock I have clock in and then do all my job. Then after that, what is the purpose of your life? This is why it's not about money anymore. And then I said, I talked to my husband, I hate my job. My husband said, how about you quit and then we open the restaurant and I said, no, I was growing up with that.

Maya Effendi:
No, no more. No more tired, no more anything. Because I know an Indonesian restaurant will be very difficult in Indiana. We find a bigger city, like really good, really diversified population. And then he said, no here in Greensburg, Oh they have baby, you're nuts. And now I have one here, but here we are, eight years. After two years we open. Used to be we are the only Indonesian restaurant in Midwest and then a couple of years after we opened, there is one in Chicago, they call it Rickshaw Republic and the other one is in Wisconsin. They call it Bandung Restaurant. So there are three of us. Then three of us work together. We share our information. In Indonesia, when you have the restaurant or anything else, they bought vegetables local, they go to their farmer markets every single day. I tried to apply that to local farmers to buy everything local. So my ingredients is 75% are locals, local ingredients like bok choy, lemongrass. It's surprising that a lot of farmers are supporting us.

Blake:
My first name is Blake.

Anne:
And my first name is Anne.

Blake:
They come to Mayasari maybe once every two weeks. My favorite menu item was definitely the sauteed asparagus special with the shrimp.

Maya Effendi:
I had to bring like very, very authentic food. What my grandma sold in Indonesia, like fried chicken, but the fried chicken is not like American fried chicken. It's like authentic Indonesian fried chicken. Dry, and has a lot of herbs and then it doesn't work. Several items that I put in my menu didn't work right. So I have to take what didn't work and then what works, do not work here, so I take it away. And then I put something that works that people wants to buy.

Anne:
My favorite item is the same as his but mine, I like chicken with mine instead of the shrimp.

Maya Effendi:
For example, rendang daging, nasi goreng, mi goreng, gado gado, chicken saute. I put it there, five of them. I put it as my signatures.

Anne:
I mix it up. Beef curry is great. You can't go wrong there. The beef curry is 10.

Maya Effendi:
Okay. The uniqueness about beef curry is, I already call it rendang daging. In Indonesia, they have a lot of kinds of beef curry. Then I brought it here specifically for our core customer here because the meat is local. When they come in here, the heat level, I put it down, and the way I cook is more juicy. So because a local like gravy, the gravy. So when they came here they mix with my steam rice and veggie. This is rendang daging. Yeah, this is my, my best seller.

Andrew:
Thank you Maya. Mayasari is located at 213 North Broadway Street. I'm sure all the food at Mayasari is great, but I always order the BLT cucumber, beef curry and mango ice tea. And it is phenomenal every single time. And finally on this episode, Greensburg community high school teacher, John Pratt has an exciting update on the Chautauqua, the twice yearly event is coming up this month.

John Pratt:
My name is John Pratt. I teach History at Greensburg high school and one of my functions is I created an inspirational speaker and performers event called Chautauqua. And I coordinate that event twice a year.

Andrew:
He told me about the history of the event as well as the highlights for this year.

John Pratt:
Very quickly, I realize with so much intense pressure on students passing standardized testing that there was something missing. And I think that thing that was missing most was inspiration. And so I thought, how can I best provide that kind of inspiration to my students? And being a fan of the Chautauqua movement some 100 years ago, which brought great nationally recognized speakers and performers to Greensburg and the small communities around us. I thought, let me take a shot at mimicking what they accomplished some 100 years ago.

John Pratt:
The first one started quite simply, I started the very first semester, I started Chautauqua projects. So students once a semester, which they still do, they do one major significant project drawing upon their interest in their talents. So at the end of that first one I thought, well, I think it's time for me to participate as well. So at that very first one, it was a very simple, got some speakers, there wasn't a penny in the budget. We had opera singers. And so it really kind of took off from there. With the second one we raised enough money to fly someone in, which was a big deal. And we actually were able to fly in Rosemarie Von Trapp, one of the original Von Trapp family singers from the sound of music. Thus, the event was created and I'm honored to be hosting my 24th, the upcoming November 14th. I've hosted 207 lectures, but very few musical concerts. We had a very successful one last spring with Riders in the Sky. Now we've got a world class blues musician by the name of Mac Arnold.

John Pratt:
Very, very excited. Mac has played in Chicago with the likes of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Hendrix, James Brown, just to name a few, so he's bringing his whole band here to give a full 90 minute blues concert. Probably the type of concert that Greensburg has never seen before. Tickets are $5, $10 and $15. The advanced tickets can be purchased at GCHSchautauqua.com, at the Greensburg public library, here at the high school and be sure and get them in advance. They're $3 more at the door.

Andrew:
Thank you John. That wraps up this episode of Beyond the Tree Tower. Beyond this Tree Tower is available on Apple podcasts. Please subscribe to find out about new episodes as soon as they're released. Also, share the podcast with a friend. Beyond the Tree Tower: Stories from Decatur County, Indiana is a production of Decatur County Tourism. Stop by online at visitgreensburg.com or in person at 211 North Broadway Street in downtown Greensburg. Here's more of the Greensburg Community High School concert band. We'll see you next time, Beyond the Tree Tower.