Speaker 1:

In 2018, with support from New York Community Trust, Queens Theater started a free training program for professional actors with disabilities.

Theater Group:

[inaudible 00:00:15].

Speaker 2:

Yeah

Carey Cox:

I’m Carey Cox. I am an actor and a comedian in New York and I have a BFA in Musical Theater from Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

Carey Cox:

I didn’t see the all, but the only clip that I saw was the “Guidance of Hope”

Rachel Handler:

Hi, I’m Rachel Handler. I’m an actress here in New York City and I’m here to just broaden my skill set.

Speaker 5:

There’s no way you could achieve something that would last that long throughout that whole model, but you kind of do it with two choices, you can’t just do it with one.

Emma Lemanski:

I keep things in. Feelings or emotions.

Emma Lemanski:

My name is Emma Lemansky. I am a new actor. I just got accepted into this program. We are getting taught by amazing teachers and they’re pumping us better, our skills and learn new things and it’s just been great.

Christine Bruno:

The program itself was designed by the staff at Queens theater and the theater for all advisory committee, which I’m on. And our idea was to create a professional training program specifically for disabled artists to meet the needs of the disabled artist because a lot of disabled learners have had lack of access to professional training.

Megan Simcox:

I’m Megan Simcox.

Speaker 6:

Okay Megan, how tall are you?

Megan Simcox:

5’2 when standing, have multiple sclerosis and at that point I started to throw myself back into theater once I was not able to do the job that I did before.

Pat Shay:

Yes. My name’s Pat Shay and I am teaching improv as part of the theater for all project at Queens theater. I have been an improv instructor for a good 20 years now and an improv performer for 25 26 years.

Patrick Tombs:

My name is Patrick Tombs and I’m an actor and I’m really excited to be here. There’s never been a program like this before and I’m lucky that I’ve been a working actor for a year now. I’ve been in New York for a year, but there are not many actors with disabilities that can say that right now. So I’m really excited to be getting more training for myself.

Speaker 7:

She told me that I have a voice to die for because she loved me, not because it’s the truth.

Rebecca Wei Hsieh:

It’s really a program that takes into account our various abilities and disabilities and instead of ignoring it, working with them and really leaning into and embracing the fact that we don’t know. We can’t necessarily do the things that abled bodied actors can do or neuro-typical actors can do.

Theater Group:

Theater for All!