Laugh At Us: The Merry Pranksters Theatrical Troupe for the Exceptionally Talented
Meet the Actors

Laugh at Us follows the struggles of a courageous acting troupe of mentally challenged adults from Rock Hill, S.C. as they work from script to stage in presenting the full length play, Pocketful of Miracles to mainstream audiences. The obstacles each faces in order to perform are daunting and the film follows the struggles and triumphs of six of the members:

When she was a child, Laura Long's parents were advised to put her in an institution and leave her there, but her theatrical family did not heed this advice. Her father was the chairman of the local university's drama department, her mother taught drama at the local high school, brother Robert, is an internationally renowned theater designer and brother William Ivey Long is a four time Tony Award winning costume designer ("Hairspray", "The Producers"). Laura had always dreamt of a life in the theater and it was she who came up with the idea of a troupe for the "exceptionally talented."  On a hot summer day at a horseback riding event, she approached Candy Clapp Randall, a former Hollywood scriptwriter, new to town, to write her a play. Together, they founded "The Merry Pranksters."

Tim Sangster moved to Rock Hill from Los Angeles with his parents. He joined the Merry Pranksters and has been acting in the troupe despite his cerebral palsy and the seizures or "personal earthquakes" his illness causes. Tim is such a devoted member of the troupe that he had his parents put a special provision in their will that insures he remain in Rock Hill and continues his "acting career."

Wheelchair bound and developmentally disabled Lucy Martin credits The Merry Pranksters with saving her life. In a previous year her esophagus ruptured and she was in a coma. Members of the troupe visited her bedside and said they needed her to say her lines in the play. Her vitals went up. The doctors do not know why she survived, but Lucy says it's because she wanted to do the play.

Josh Meyers is the youngest of the troupe and has autism. In past years he had trouble when he made mistakes and couldn't handle change. In this play he has two parts and an enormous amount of dialogue to learn.

Pocketful of Miracles introduces two new actors to the troupe. Alan Franco has autism but is also obsessive compulsive. His parents want Alan to try to be more social with his peers and hope the Merry Pranksters can do this. Mary Ward was born with Down's syndrome and, although outgoing, gets nervous in new situations.