Cape Cod Child Development hits close to home with "Rock of Ages"

Cape Cod Child Development hits close to home with "Rock of Ages" 
​By: Corinne Cameron

Life has been absolutely non-stop crazy for me, where I have not been able to write a blog post in ages. Things are no different right now, but there is a show, “Rock of Ages” coming up this weekend at the Tilden Arts Center that made me wake up an hour early so I could tell you about it. It’s that important!

Now you are sitting here thinking, Ok, theatre is entertaining and all, but important? Yes, important. The production has one goal, to serve as a fundraiser for a non-profit agency called Cape Cod Child Development. From May 12-13th the actors will perform 3 shows to raise money for CCCDP as well as the Cape Conservatory, who is receiving 10% of the proceeds to go towards student scholarships. I’ll tell you more about it further down but let me start by saying that I am not affiliated with the organization in any way other than being a former client on behalf of my 5 year old son, Remy.

Remy was born prematurely at 36 weeks and had a rough start to life, spending a total of 25 days in the NICU and Special care nursery off cape, before he was well enough to come home. Because of this he automatically qualified for services through CCCDP but little did we know, just how much we would need them and the impact the organization would have on us. Remy started off with some fairly minor stiffness on the right side of his body, a side effect of all the medications pumped into his delicate little body, and we utilized home based physical therapy services through their Early Intervention (EI) program. As he developed, he not only met his milestones, most were way ahead of the typical schedule. Then at about a year old, my husband and I, with our case manager, noticed that he wasn’t as vocal as we would have liked, so we monitored it for a bit. By the time he was 16 months, we decided to have a speech evaluation completed and the rest is history.

To make a long story, short, we had the pleasure of having CCCDP in our home multiple times a week to help Remy with his significant speech delays until he “aged out” at 3 years old and transitioned over to the public school system. In addition to having our case manager, we had a speech therapist, as well as a child development specialist working with not only Remy, but my husband and myself. What impressed me most was not only the service that they were providing, but their willingness to work within our personal ideals and boundaries. It was the definition of “child centered” and ‘individualized”.It was a sad day when we had our last EI appointment but also exciting to think of the future. Remy falls on the autism spectrum, with his receptive and expressive language being his largest stumbling block, but he is doing outstanding! The fact that it took what seemed like forever to hear my sweet boys voice say “mama’, it is even sweeter to now have him say, without prompting “Mama, I love you so much”. I can honestly say that it if wasn’t for CCCDP, I would still be waiting for “Mama”, as Early Intervention is key!

Early Intervention is actually the tip of the ‘iceberg” for Cape Cod Child Development as they have several programs to serve the Capes most vulnerable residents of all socioeconomic levels.They have the FUN (Family United Network) Program which has groups such as Music & Movement, Wildlife Playgroups, Children’s playgroups where they can explore fairytales, folk tales and original stories, Little Scientists and much more! They have Family Child Care, Preschool & Headstart Programs, and a Teen Parent Program. Since a good portion of clients fall at or below the poverty line, this non-profit organization relies on donations and grants to ensure they can serve any family that needs their service.

So what is so special about this production of “Rock of Ages” when we have an incredible amount of community theatre on Cape Cod? Well not only have some of the best talent on Cape been assembled, they have billed it as “Broadway meets Cape Cod” as they not only have 4 professional actors/vocalists joining the cast in lead roles, they have various production members that work in the business, working to make sure this show shines. I will mention that they have labeled the production PG-14, so this is an “Adult Night out to support our little ones”

So call your babysitter, grab your significant other or group of friends, go to www.CCCDP.org/children/events and reserve your tickets for one of the 3 shows and get transported back in time to re-live (Yikes! I am showing my age…..or live for the first time), your 1980’s rockstar dreams!


If you go:
Cape Cod Child Development Presents:
“Rock of Ages” by Chris D’Arienzo and arrangements by Ethan Popp
Featuring National Tour & Broadway Musical Artists
May 12th-13th, 2017
Tilden Arts Center, Cape Cod Community College

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Corinne Cameron, an only child originally hailing from Long Island, New York but spent vacations and holidays at her families second home in Brewster since she was 3 weeks old. She was fortunate enough to be able to settle on the Cape full time in the Summer of 2000. A couple of years after marrying her husband Robert, her father suffered a life changing brain bleed leading to combining households with her parents, so she could care for him during the day. This led to purchasing a home in East Falmouth where they have been since May of 2014.

​Professionally, Corinne was a social worker before becoming disabled from full time employment after a April 2007 car accident, however her most cherished “job” came to fruition on 11/11/11 when she gave birth to her rainbow baby, Remy. Remy was her personal miracle after suffering 10 miscarriages beforehand, a topic she is passionate about exposing as countless couples (1 in 4 pregnancies) every year suffer the same fate in silence. Along with raising Remy, who falls on the autistic spectrum, Corinne is a Director within the community theatre scene here on the Cape, as well as at Mashpee Middle High School since 2010. She also sits as Vice President on the Board of Directors at the Woods Hole Theater Company and runs an online support group of over 4000 patients, like her, who suffer from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. In her spare time she enjoys various crafts, cake & cookie decorating, watching movies and playing board games with her family and most importantly attending bible studies and events at her church.

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