disability & theater

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Have you ever seen a performer with a disability take on a role on stage where the disability was not written into the character? Its strange, I can think of tv shows where Ive seen this done (such as the coroner in CSI) but I dont believe Ive seen a performance where the actor just happened to be disabled. I know Kitty Lunn, a wheelchair bound performer, appeared in Agnes of God as Dr. Martha Livingston but I didnt see it. Most disabled thespians I know of are having more success making their disability the focus of their performance in original work.

If you haven't seen it done, can you think of a character in a well known work where it could be done without altering the character/dialogue/staging?

[SweetQintheLights]

I can't think of any but, Mistress, why does it say you joined today?

[Fabrizio2]

Yeah it says that this is her only post.


Weird.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

yeah... um, well I was using an email account associated with a website and the server mustve been down bouncing back emails, because Rob says the system occassionally purges people whose email accounts arent working. So I had to sign up again. This is the second time Ive had to start all over again, so I guess Ill never know how high my post count is. :)

[SweetQintheLights]

Aww Poor mistress.

You're already a legend in my book!

[Fabrizio2]

Oh that's awful!

[Mistress_Spouzic]

its alright, im sure ill be a legend again in like a month or so. im just sad about the pictures & pms I had in my profile.

Back to the topic, I havent seen Spelling Bee, but could someone in that show be portrayed by someone with a disability? Just looking through the back of a playbill hoping an idea will pop into my head...

[CurtainPullDowner]

well there's Nessa Rose
but she gets out of that chair
U got me thinking
and Josh makes a hot Vampire...

[Calvin]

Well, "Big River" is the obvious one.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Who's Life IS It Anyway?

[CapnHook]

I think a wheelchair bound actor as King Arthur in SPAMALOT would be HILARIOUS!

In all honesty, I could see it working in about 50% of the plays I thought of at the top of my head. It's an interesting thought. It DOES change the character. I guess what matters if it that change actually changes the show itself, and if it does, would it negate the point of the show?

[Mistress_Spouzic]

I dont know why I didnt think of Big River. Thats a big duh.

Capn, Im sure plays in general are easier to picture because theres less dancing to overcome but then Im always annoyed when Nessarose mysteriously disappears during Dancing Through Life. What plays did you think of?

[LizzieCurry]

Well, "Big River" is the obvious one.

Not if you realize a lot of people in Deaf culture don't consider themselves "disabled."

[TomMonster]

I'm so glad you're back Mistress! I was concerned...

Different disability, but CHILDREN OF A LESSOR GOD covers something...

[Mistress_Spouzic]

You dont think its significant to the topic? What we're really talking about is presenting characters in unexpected ways but instead of commenting on color blind casting for example, we're talking about actors having medical conditions that their character doesnt necessarily have.

The Deaf and Blind are both listed in the SAG, AFTRA and Actors' Equity Association guideline for employers entitled, "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Working With Performers With Disabilities But Were Afraid To Ask."
Click to read the guidelines, which I think are funny, understated and incomplete

[TomMonster]

I stand corrected and you sit beautifully in your avatar! I LOVE your costume--is that from the village parade?

I so want the gay flag wrist/sleeve!

Loving you!

PM me, cause I really hope you have the same sense of humor I do. I just don't want to post anything that would be perceived as insensitive...cause, I'm really good at that too!

[gumbo2]

I read an article a while ago about a guy playing Horton in Seussical who was in a wheelchair, and he apparently gave a great performance and his disability didn't seem to get in his way at all. There's also that girl in Urinetown with the leg brace, I guess a girl who really had a bad leg could play that no problem.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Could you see one of the puppeteers in Avenue Q having a disability since we're supposed to watching the puppets anyway?

Or how about one of the Board of Governors in Jekyll & Hyde? I dont recall them doing anything or saying anything that would make it awkward.

I thought perhaps Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins but then people would assume she doesn't act anymore because of some injury. And it wouldnt work too easily for someone with a physical disability in this production anyway, because of the lovely 3 story building theyre using.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

double post.

[TomMonster]

Mrs. Banks, could be in a chair. But it would be a lot more fun to see the chair fly over the audience up to the balcony...

*waiting for stones yet again to be thrown at me*



monkey tree.

[CurtainPullDowner]

"Man in Chair"
could be
"Woman in Wheel Chair"

[Calvin]

And of course, there's the Baby Jane musical. There's a whole song about Blanche being in the wheelchair.

And FDR in Annie.

[krolockskid]

I remember the doctor in "The Normal Heart" was in a wheel chair, don't know if that was in the original production or not, but it was in the recent one with Raul and Joanna Gleason.

[shiksa_goddess]

In High School during "South Pacific" we had a boy in a wheelchair play one of the commanding officers.

My sister played Mrs. Peroo in a production of "The Music Man" that my father's theater company put on. She's in a wheelchair.

Other than that, I haven't seen it done. We do have a deaf playhouse around here though.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

some of these are great examples.

In The Normal Heart, the character is supposed to have polio I believe.