| TRAVEL
By Andrea Jehn Kennedy
While traveling this spring and summer, I recommend taking the time to see a “very special show,” no matter where you are. Many groups throughout the US are focused on the challenges of living with a disability. These groups give inspirational, family-friendly, and often award-winning shows throughout the year.
A double-bonus for these groups and their performances is the care they take toward accessibility. In addition to an abundance of wheelchair seating, many offer large print and Braille programs, hearing assistance systems, audio descriptions, and sign language.
First look to VSA Arts, an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith that is currently represented in over 60countries. The three letters of the name originally stood for Very Special Arts, and now represent “Vision of an inclusive community, Strength in shared resources and Artistic expressions that unite us all.” VSA Arts has chapters in nearly every US state, including their home office chapter in Washington DC. Visit www.vsaarts.org/and click on “affiliates” for a chapter near you.
Next, traveling the country this year is Nobody’s Perfect, based on the namesake children’s book by Marlee Matlin (Oscar-winning deaf actress) and Doug Cooney, about finding the patience to accept differences. The music wins out in this one for sure. The infectious songs will stay in your head for weeks. Bright and lively, Nobody’s Perfect is a product of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and its two educational affiliates, Arts Edge and VSA Arts. The performance has stuck to that venue since its opening in 2007, but is touring nationally from February to May this year, including shows in 17 states from California to New York. Most of the tour will be over by the time you read this, but there are still chances to see it in New York City and Buffalo, New York until mid-May. For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/ontour/.
For Colorado readers, PHAMALY (Physically Handicapped Actors and Musical Artists League), a disability focused theatrical group based out of Denver and celebrating its 21st year in business, has been busy this year. PHAMALY presented Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” at the Aurora Fox Arts Center from January 14– 31 and had casting auditions in March for a summer run of “Beauty and the Beast.” In previous years, the group has received numerous honors and recognition for many previous performances including “Side Show” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
PHAMALY is comprised entirely of performers with a wide variety of physical challenges, and the company’s core mission is to enable persons with disabilities to showcase their talents and abilities through live performance and to make the performing arts more accessible to everyone. PHAMALY is dedicated to producing traditional theatre in nontraditional ways. The group will also be performing Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” this summer from July 15 to August 15 at Denver the Performing Arts Complex. www.phamaly.org
For readers in the South (and over 13!), check out Deaf West Theater, presenting “My Sister in This House” until May 30. Inspired by a true story in 1930s France, this haunting play explores class struggle, identity, and what happens when the need for connection and companionship is ignored and abused. The themes of the play are accentuated by the deaf and hearing actors performing in a multilingual setting of American Sign Language, spoken English, and open captioning. The divide between the deaf and the hearing worlds provide added thematic weight to the world that the play’s main characters live in. www.deafwest.org
Andrea and her husband Craig are co-owners of Access Anything, travel consultants and writers specializing in marketing and education for all aspects of disability travel including recreation, adventure, eco travel, ADA rights and interpretation. Access Anything’s guidebook series, travel products, published articles and more can be found at www.accessanything.net.
