Our Mission

Big Heart Theater empowers teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to create and perform one-of-a-kind theatrical experiences for themselves and their communities — forever redefining disabilities as possibilities.

  • We nurture a culture of celebration, belonging, and unlimited possibility.

  • Differences are not just accepted but embraced.

  • We are a place where prejudices, fears, and barriers dissolve.

  • We center the voices of our actors so they can stretch their creativity and share their unique stories and voices with the wider world.

  • Our shows are FREE for performers and audiences.

  • Big Heart Theater is a sanctuary of warmth and acceptance, where every creative heart finds a welcome home.

Who is Big Heart Theater for?

  • People aged16+ with IDD such as Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and other disabilities who are interested in performing **

  • Speaking and non-speaking folks who like acting, singing and dancing

  • People with IDD in wheel chairs or who need physical assistance who want to be creative and have fun

  • Supporters who care about giving those who are overlooked in our community an opportunity to share their unique voice and talent.

** People must be able to use the restroom on their own or have someone to assist them at all rehearsals and performances.

The program is completely FREE

for all performers and audience members!

About Big Heart Theater

Big Heart Theater, a non-profit company founded in 2024, was inspired by the work of the Spotlight Theater program, which is a part of the Belong Disability Ministry at Highland Park United Methodist Church. Big Heart Theater founder and executive director Lisa Lee Schmidt co-founded Spotlight in 2010. With that acclaimed program as a model, we launched our first production in September, 2024 at Pleasant Grove Branch Library.

Big Heart is the only free Dallas-area theater that works with adults and teens with IDD to develop plays based on their thoughts, ideas, passions, and interests. We are intentionally lean and nimble — we have no established space so we can go directly into the neighborhoods that need us most.

Board of Directors

  • Raphael Parry, Board Chair

  • Kelly Cotten

  • Ahila Gulasekaram

  • Laurel Hoitsma, Secretary

  • Karen Mercado, Treasurer

  • Leticia Parker

  • Connie Parry

  • Lisa Lee Schmidt

  • Jenni Stewart

Lisa Lee Schmidt, Founder & Executive Director

  • MA in Special Education, Challenging Behaviors, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

  • BFA, Theater, Southern Methodist University

Lisa is the founder of Big Heart Theater and the co-founder of Spotlight Theater, an acclaimed program of the Belong Disability Ministry at Highland Park United Methodist Church. For her work at Spotlight, she was recognized with a national Opening Hearts and Minds award and was chosen as Honorary Chair for the North Texas gala of Best Buddies International, which promotes social opportunities for people with IDD. An award-winning full-length documentary about her work, Into the Spotlight, is currently streaming on multiple platforms.

Lisa is also the founder of Big Thought’s Creative Solutions, an empathy-based art and theater partnership with the Dallas County Juvenile Justice system, designed to improve youth outcomes and reduce recidivism. Creative Solutions has served more than 20,000 young people and was awarded a national Coming Up Taller award presented by First Lady Laura Bush at the White House. 

During her professional theater career Lisa performed locally, nationally, and internationally, including as a company member of Dallas’ Undermain Theater. She is the recipient of a national ARTS award (Arts Recognition and Talent Search) as well as several “best of the year” awards from the Dallas Theater Critics Forum.