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Since 1983, VSA arts of New Mexico, has focused on
developing projects that bring together amateur visual artists with
professional artists to create innovative material based on lived
experience. In 2000, VSA arts of New Mexico moved into a
larger space on 4th St. NW where they added performing
arts to their class offerings. At this time VSA arts of New
Mexico began its first theater company for people with developmental
disabilities.
The MultiAbility Project (working title) represents
VSA arts of New Mexico’s launch of creating a professional theater
company comprised of theater professionals with and without
disabilities. Few organizations in the country have presented
such a broad-based collaboration between disabled and able-bodied
actors, artists, designers, activists, and other members of the
community. Other organizations include the DisAbility Project
(http://www.disabilityproject.com/)
in St. Louis, MO; Interact Theater Company (http://www.disabilityproject.com/)
in Minneapolis, MN; Actual Lives Theater Project (http://www.actualives.org/)
in Austin, TX; Amaryllis Theatre Company (http://www.amaryllistheatre.org/)
in Philadelphia, PA; Encore Studio Theatre Company (http://www.encorestudio.org/)
in Madison, WI; Renegade Garage Players (http://www.rgplayers.org/)
in Cincinnati, OH; Theatre in Motion Company (http://www.theatreinmotion.com/)
in New Providence, NJ; Unlimited Potential Theatre Company and (http://www.vsanj.org/)
in New Brunswick, NJ.
The MultiAbility Project hopes to bring awareness to
socially relevant issues.
We hope that this group will be comprised of people
with and without disabilities who are diverse in age, race,
ethnicity, class, occupation, education, religion, sexual
orientation, physical ability, and performance experience.
Some of these challenges could include spinal cord
injury, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, AIDS,
alcoholism, asthma, cancer, Polio, stroke, epilepsy, blindness,
brain injury, bipolar disorder, amputation, depression, and
cognitive delay.
The MultiAbility Project will begin with an intensive
theater workshop for people with and without disabilities April
14-April 26 Monday – Saturday 6:30-8:30PM. This intensive
workshop will be led by Gabriel Baron, a theater artist based out of
Seattle and New York City, who specializes in physical theater
techniques. The intensive will be an opportunity for theater
artists with and without disabilities to begin to find a theater
language that will work for the company in the future.
For more information or to sign up for the workshop,
please contact Jessica Barkl at (505)345-2872 ext. 15 or at
orangeprincess@rocketmail.com,
or Brynne Badeaux at (505)345-2872 ext. 27 or at
bbadeaux@vsartsnm.org |
