Re: RAT Cripples, in your face)

["Glen 'Skip' Newell" <skipworthy@hotmail.com>]

Cat-

Yeah, but what if we took 'those people' and treated them just like they
were US? Braces wheelchairs and so forth do NOT make a person less
intelligent or insightful ( in fact, some of the most intelligent and
creative people I have known in my life have been physically impeded in some
way).  Furthermore, how is casting someone with leg braces or crutches *SO*
different from casting a Black  Atticus Finch or a Latino Prospero? To my
mind, as long as we' re casting a concept anyway, why can't we include a
blind Lear or a wheelchair-bound Brutus ? I think if we treat it as no more
an extraordinary a choice than any other , our audiences will follow suit-
they really are that smart. Yes, there will be those who come to see the
train wreck ( did you hear ? they have a CRIPPLE down at the Changing
Scene...) but there will always be that element of spectator anyway, and
though I loathe the attitude, I'll certainly take from them the price of a
ticket while I explain how shallow their thinking is.

I'm not suggesting that we extend our reach to supersede our grasp; there
are a whole other set of issues involved when you talk about the profoundly
mentally or physically impaired community- and I applaud the efforts of
those who put the time and energy into them. And I wouldn't even THINK of
asking someone with an advanced neuropathic disease like MS to put in the
energy and commitment needed to mount a character on stage unless they came
to me and begged.

Yes, we're talking about a little extra time and effort. Yes, we're asking
for alot of people to change how they interact with the theatre community.

As another side note- I've corresponded with Brad for quite awhile, even
spoke with him on the phone. It never once occured to me that he would not
be able to execute a role if one was given to him. The much more recent
revelation that he is physically challenged hasn't changed that.

In Shakespeare's time, women weren't allowed onstage. Until  this century,
Black and Latino performers onstage with 'whitefolks' was frowned upon. All
of these things changed with persistance and time.

S.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Cat Hebert" <virtualdrama@juno.com>
To: <rat-list@whirl-i-gig.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2001 12:53 PM
Subject: Re: RAT Cripples, in your face)


> There are lots of good reasons for avoiding doing productions which
> "specialize" in using cast members with physical differences, not the
> least of which is the amount of time that has to be spent accommodating a
> production to the cast member.
>
> There are a lot of issues that have to be dealt with in production (not
> the least of which is helping other cast members alter their work methods
> without a lot of undue pain). You have to estimate whether you have the
> additional time to work through the issues (conscious and sub-) and get
> to performance. (We are putting actors under tremendous time-pressure
> these days, and an added element can bring covert resentment -- with a
> nice bonus of guilt all around.)
>
> You could try to find pieces in which there are one or more characters
> have a specific "physical difference", but are there actors with these
> differences available, and can they actually play the difference -- or is
> it a different difference? (For example, we have a physician playwright
> who has written some short pieces with characters who have MS. Wonderful
> little pieces. But could actors with relatively advanced MS play those
> roles? Don't know.)
>
> It's fer sure that a disability will draw focus from audiences, and that
> has to be built into the production -- otherwise it becomes "look at
> ____, onstage, with all those "regular" people" or ... "How does she make
> it up those stairs with those braces?"
>
> It seems to me that a relatively enlightened strategy would be to create
> pieces which contain a major character who has a physical difference, but
> to make that difference almost incidental to the plot and relationships
> -- as in the blind character on the TV show that stars Ted Danson. To be
> able to cast these pieces reliably, the physical differences will need to
> be "ordinary" enough so that they don't draw too much focus.
>
> Finally, let me mention that a friend of mine has been creating pieces
> with mid-to-high-functioning retarded adults in NYC. She had to create
> her own methods and performance development techniques (book out soon),
> develop an audience, fight with the bureauracy, the relatives, the
> "pat-pat-look-at-that" theater community. But.. she was smart enough to
> understand that this particular group of actors positively *glow* when
> they are performing. The great, sweet energy many of them exude becomes
> another form of subtext, and fills the house in a way that you only see
> echoed in the most riveting theater experiences.
>
> Cheers,
> Cat Hebert
>
>
> --------------
>
> >Skip wrote: >
> >Also, it's only fair to point
> > out that
> > most productions don't call for a guy in a wheelchair or a blind
> > girl, and
> > as far as I am aware, the physically disadvantaged aren't showing up
> > at
> > casting calls in any huge numbers, either because they just aren't
> > comfortable, or because they assume they won't get the part-even
> > though this
> > does not excuse us, it might explain why it doesn't come up more
> > often, and
> > is yet another reason why a group made up of *only* the physically
> > different
> > might be a good thing, at least in the beginning stages of the
> > revolution.
> >
> > This has become an interesting idea to me; I'm re -thinking alot of
> > choices
> > with regards to who I am as an artist (but then, cousin Brad always
> > had that
> > effect on me...).
> >
> > What if we started including 'physically disadvantaged artists
> > encouraged to
> > apply' in our notices ?  What if we cast an already experimental
> > piece with
> > a couple of these folks? We talk alot about breaking new ground
> > around here.
> > I think I can see some real potential here...
> >
> > Skip
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <DESILEF@cs.com>
> > To: <rat-list@whirl-i-gig.com>
> > Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2001 8:38 AM
> > Subject: Re: RAT Cripples, in your face)
> >
> >
> > > In a message dated 4/2/01 9:23:20 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> > > skipworthy@hotmail.com writes:
> > >
> > > <<  cast *only*  the physiaclly disadvantaged.  >>
> > >
> > > But my hope is that the physically impaired are not relegated to
> > their own
> > > spaces (kept in their place).  There's a need for identity
> > politics, but
> > why
> > > is that the whole story, as if it were somehow sufficient? If
> > we're all
> > part
> > > of this society, why aren't we in it together?
> > > d
> > >
> > >
> > >
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