NORFOLK, Va. — A production of The Sound of Music wrapped up on August 11 at the Norfolk Masonic Temple Theater.
But some of the cast members, upon returning to the theater days later, still appeared to be in performance mode as they sang and danced to several numbers from the show.
As much as they enjoy being on stage, these actors get so much more out of the opportunity to perform.
"Give them something to pretend to be, give them a song... and it just, it leads to communication, it leads to collaboration. It's just a wonderful experience for everybody," said Anna Walker, choreographer and president of the board of directors of Arts Inclusion Company (AIC).
The nonprofit, now in its tenth year and with as many productions under its belt, welcomes people of all ages and abilities.
"The majority of our actors have some type of developmental or physical or intellectual disability," Walker said, noting that there are also actors who do not have a disability. "It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, or where you come from. We're all in this together, just one giant project, one giant family. Everybody is celebrated for what they can do. There's no talk about what we can't do and about limitations. We just design the entire experience around the individuals."
The only requirement to participate is a passion for the arts. And that emotion is amplified, Walker said, when it's showtime.
"When you're watching the shows, I feel you don't even realize you're watching people with disabilities sometimes," Walker said, "because the way it's done, it's just so seamless and clean."
The group incorporates certain elements into productions designed to support its actors, such as sign language to include nonverbal performers and volunteers who shadow actors on-stage and provide support.
"The most important thing and the number one thing that we look at is safety," Walker said. "We've found that the safer people feel, the less anxious they feel, the more likely they are to do their very best and to kind of come out of that shell. So, that's why we usually have to find a venue that allows us extra time, so it's a consistent environment-- nothing scary, no big drops, no big flashes, no big noises. We rehearse as much as we can in smaller groups so it's not as overwhelming before we introduce everybody to the big group."
For people who are interested in performing but would like to sharpen their artistic skills, volunteers with the company also host a series of workshops.
"They're a much smaller environment, less challenging scripts," Walker said. "And we have some that are written by board members, where they'll perform a script that they wrote with 20 or so actors. They'll just pass out the lines. Actors are encouraged to adlib, add a little bit of themselves to it. And then, we'll perform it just for a very small audience."
Walker said she has also offered to lead ballet and wheelchair dance workshops.
"A lot of theater companies, their goal is to sell tickets. Their goal is to get people in seats. Their goal is to book more performances," Walker said. "Ours is to give the actors the professional theater experience from the beginning to the end."
Arts Inclusion Company plans to gear up in the next several months for another production. In the meantime, Walker said the cast and crew are already looking forward to rehearsing together again.
"There's no other place where you can just be exactly who you are, where you are," Walker said. "There's no superstars, and [there's] no, just, low ensemble member. We're all kind of the same... And I think when people feel like they're heard and they're seen and they're celebrated, wonderful things happen."
Visit the AIC's website to sign up for its newsletter and be notified about the next show. The nonprofit typically puts on one major production per year.
"We've been separated for a long time by ability, and that's not really representative of a community and what we have," Walker said. "And when you see our shows, you [kind of] go, 'I had no idea this could ever even happen and be so good'... We don't have to be separated by what we can do. We can find something we can all work on together."
Walker said people are encouraged to reach out to AIC to invite small groups to perform at events. The company is also accepting donations and volunteers, as shows can involve more than 50 cast members of varying abilities.
"When we have shows, it takes a lot of people. For every actor, it probably takes two staff members just with the sets, making them accessible and safe," Walker said. " We just need a lot of people to make this happen. It's a village."