I only Cried Twice
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 4:16PM Otherwise, I laughed my ass off. I’m talking about Vox Phamalia: Redux, an onstage review presented by Phamaly, a group of remarkably gifted actors who are also disabled. The performance has been depicted as “edgy,” but I think this description significantly under-represents the impact of experiencing it in person.
For me, it began when my friend, actor-director-playwright, Edith Weiss asked if I would be interested in volunteering as a stagehand in a collaborative effort she and a group of disabled actors were going to put up in the beginning of November. Watching Edith work is always compelling. She has a structured process that quickly transforms absolute chaos into enlightened, creative order. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
Phamaly is a 20-year-old theatrical organization presenting well-known plays and musicals entirely utilizing the talents of disabled actors. Before you think that this is some kind of “Special Olympics” for actors, you should know that Phamaly produces big popular shows at well known venues that are attended by knowledgeable theatergoers. The reason that their productions receive consistently good reviews is that these people can act, I mean really act!
This production represented a major departure from the group’s more typically commercial efforts. It was born out of a 9 week workshop Edith conducted with 10 disabled actors with the goal of theatrically representing their (very personal) everyday experience of living with a disability. That’s nine weeks from their first meeting to their first performance. The result is a laugh-out-loud, profoundly politically incorrect sketch show that's completely original.
My assignment seemed minimal, simply moving props between scenes during rehearsals and performances in a theater seven minutes from my house, how hard could it be? I forgot about Edith’s perfectionism which was magnified by the cast’s complete dedication to “getting it right.” Rehearsals were grueling and frequently long - one involving a 12 hour day.
In all, I was privileged to spend about 50 hours with this extraordinary group. My awareness of their physical limitations (other than what was obviously necessary for safety) quickly dissolved and shifted toward noticing the gracious ways in which they looked after each other. Like soldiers in battle, they had a constant, almost preternatural awareness of each other that far transcended the typical connections that often develop in groups who create together.
Their concern was rarely overt. Instead, it took the form of gently letting me know of needs of another cast mate, whispering: “She’s going to need a chair with arms so she can easily stand up,” Or; “Can you make that path a little wider for his wheelchair?” Or; “I’m not sure that he heard you, better check just in case he doesn’t have his hearing aid turned on.”
It also became quite obvious that despite some bodily frailties - ordinary and extraordinary - and physical barriers, no one ever got frustrated or complained. Everyday I witnessed actors push far past their comfort zones and physical pain to tell their story.
About laughing my ass off - Vox Phamalia: Redux consists of about 12 scenes portraying various aspects of the actors’ lives through parody, song, poetry and monologues. The writing is sharp, laugh-out-loud funny, and always compelling. Virtually every piece teeters on the edge of hilarity and pathos, often leaving the audience wondering whether it should laugh or cry. This is a good thing and is the reason the show works so brilliantly. However, this factor, combined with "politically incorrect," humor resulted in the director and cast feeling it necessary to make an pre-show announcement giving the audience permission to laugh, saying, " You may find yourselves holding back, afraid to laugh - don't - we think that this is funny as Hell!"
It begins with a “Disabled Anonymous Meeting,” or, “DAM.” - think of the absurdity of having a 12-step program for the disabled - and ends with a "Jeopardy" parody in which participants compete for wheelchair ramps, seeing-eye dogs, and even a kidney. Consider some of the categories: “Cripple or Traffic Cone?” - “Tasteless Jokes” - "Incontinence Supplies" - and a visual “Daily Double,” despite the fact that two of the contestants are blind and can’t even find their buzzers.
In between are original monologues, poetry, dance, and songs - my favorite, “Don’t Cry for me Jerry Lewis,” to the melody of “Evita” - and short pieces like “Disability Audition,” where Lucy Roucis, an actress with Parkinson’s disease, recreates an actual audition where she was rejected for a part playing a person with Parkinson’s disease, because, as the casting director says: “You just don’t have the right kind of Parkinson’s disease.” In a delicious irony-defining event, Lucy was just cast in a film alongside Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal to play a comedian with, well, Parkinson's disease.
Tears? No, they had nothing to do with feeling sorry for anyone. I lost my “gimpathy” after a few hours with these folks. Rather, my emotion was stirred by the phenomenally intimate atmosphere the intersection of the writing, acting, and direction creates for the audience.
One example, of many, is Reagan Linton’s “What Really Matters.” Alone, moving across the stage in her wheelchair she tells us about coming to terms, as a vibrant college student, with being robbed of all physical feelings below her chest - bladder, bowel functions, and yes, the majority of her genital sensation - after being in an automobile accident. Reagan goes into more than enough clinical detail about her loss. Then as I (and surely the rest of the audience) balance on a borderline between discomfort and tears, she suddenly abruptly changes direction, reaching into the back pocket of her wheelchair and cheerfully whipping out a copy of Cosmopolitan Magazine.
She refers to it as the “Bible,” mockingly considering the possible usefulness of “Cosmo’s” typically banal articles - “Top Ten Sexy Ways to Tease Him,” and “Fifty Sex Positions to Try” - coquettishly using her remarkable comedic skills to physically demonstrate their utter futility. She brings us back to reality in the end, grabbing the dead weight of her legs and pronouncing, “The truth is --- this is real,” then holding up the magazine, “this is not!” Continuing, “I’m not saying that this (pointing to her legs) doesn’t matter. It does, very much so. But there’s no ‘one’ right way for this to be, or to look, or get around, or feel, or love or make love.”
This emotionally naked moment, among many others, recruits the audience into a rare experience of authentic intimacy. We think, we feel, we care - we are connected. The experience requires that we shed our masks and experience our own very fragile humanity, if only internally, for 90 minutes. In that period we drop the need to construct false realities, counterfeit identities, or engage in any kind of virtual intimacy. Reagan Linton speaks for for everyone in a small theater - the director, cast, and the audience - when she says: “This is real.”
So, now that you have reached the bottom of the page, please don’t get angry when I tell you that Vox Phamalia: Redux has ended its initial short run where every show was sold out. The good news is that it will be back in the beginning of next year, sometime after January. I’ll pass on any information requests you send me or you can contact Phamaly directly to find out more. You won’t want to miss it.
Charlie Johnson
Reader Comments (8)
thanks a lot dear, im very interesting for your article. im very impresing for this :)
forum
SEO can be an invaluable asset to the marketing of your website or business, as long as it is used properly. Seeking out helpful SEO can get you started. Although it seems like a simple process, there are actually a few complexities that you need to be aware of before you get started. Sure, you could just pop a few keywords into your website content or articles and call it SEO, but it doesn't work that easily. In case you're not already aware, SEO stands for search engine marketing, and is the process of using keywords and common search terms to create a website that has higher search engine rankings.
thank you.
เกมส์
whats up everyone
just registered and put on my todo list
hopefully this is just what im looking for looks like i have a lot to read.
Thanks for sharing nice information with us...
This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articleswyler watches
Thanks for add this blog and sharing this information with us
Personally I think, that this entry is really great and informative indeed. I have to admit that it was quite interesting to read this your post.