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PHAMALY: How to succeed in theater, even if it's trying - Aurora Sentinel: Lead
Mark Dissette is the first to admit that the cast and crew members in PHAMALY had a lot to learn when they mounted their first production more than 20 years ago.
The nation’s only handicapped performing arts organization showed signs of its inexperience in its early days, said Dissette, an Aurora resident and Gateway High School graduate. That core crew of actors, singers and techies didn’t have the same backgrounds as the rest of their peers in the metro area’s theater scene, he added.
“If you’re in high school and you’re in a wheelchair, they’re not going to cast you,” Dissette said. “This ain’t ‘Glee’ ... They don’t always get the opportunities to learn the basics.”
Twenty-two years later, the company has moved far beyond its awkward phase. Nationally renowned for its unique artistic mission and its high caliber performances, PHAMALY has become a springboard of sorts for its members.
The résumé of company veteran Lucy Roucis includes a role in the 2010 film “Love and Other Drugs,” and crooner Leonard Barret Jr. has juggled PHAMALY parts with a host of lead roles in musicals and solo shows. PHAMALY has picked up several local arts awards, and it’s been the focus of several national news outlets.
As the troupe winds up its run of the 1960s musical “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying” at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the comparisons to the early days are hard to avoid. It seems it’s impossible to avoid meditating on how far the company has come.
“It’s not been easy. We’re mixing disabilities, we’re mixing experience levels,” said PHAMALY Artistic Director Steve Wilson, who has steered the direction of the company for the past 11 years. “But I think everything has developed. Because we’ve tried to nurture our actors, the acting has gotten better, the singing has gotten better, I have gotten better working with the company.”
The company, which splits its stage time between the Aurora Fox theater and the DCPA for its annual musical, has honed its craft through years of experience, but time has not dulled its taste for creative risk. Their current musical dates from 1961, but the vintage view of office politics, sexism and ambition has offered new challenges for a company that’s used to pushing the envelope.
“It was meant to poke fun of the reality at the time,” Wilson said. “I would say that I don’t think it’s completely an era gone by. Everyone can acknowledge the current issues as they relate to the war of the sexes and the equality of men and women. People in power are still playing foul,” he added, citing headlines as recent as shamed New York politician Anthony Weiner.
The musical offered PHAMALY chances to add their own unique commentaries on the setting and tone of the piece. In place of the World Wide Wicket Company, for example, PHAMALY has changed the name of the fictional corporation to the World Wide Wheelchair Company. The last production of the troupe’s season has also offered a chance to spotlight a new company member with a different disability: Nicki Runge is the first deaf actress to perform with the troupe.
“You do see sign language in this production. I also think that it shows that people with disabilities have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else,” said Jenna Bainbridge, who’s playing Rosemary in the production. “Although it is so ‘60s, I think that there still are those women out there, whose goal it is to get married and have a family. It’s still something that should be addressed.”
Bainbridge, who starred as Belle in last year’s production of “Beauty and the Beast,” said her time with PHAMALY has given her the confidence and wherewithal to seek the spotlight in other forms, such as competing in local beauty contests. Bainbridge, who walks with a noticeable limp because of a neurological disorder, said the value of the troupe goes beyond the stage.
“When I started with PHAMALY, I was 14 and I thought that my disability was ugly and that no one would ever accept me,” Bainbridge said. “It’s allowed to accept myself, so that for pageants, I can walk around in a bikini and say, ‘This is OK. This is still pretty.’”
Such lessons are important for old and new members alike. While Runge has attracted attention for her important role as the company’s first deaf performer, the musical is also the debut production for Shannon Wilson, an Aurora resident who plays a secretary. Wilson, who has a specific type of autism known as Fragile X, said she’s still reeling from the chance to perform onstage at one of the state’s largest venues.
“It feels pretty surreal to me to come here, because the last time I was here I was in the audience,” said Wilson, who is studying theater at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. “It’s always been a dream of mine.”
Mark Dissette is the first to admit that the cast and crew members in PHAMALY had a lot to learn when they mounted their first production more than 20 years ago.
The nation’s only handicapped performing arts organization showed signs of its inexperience in its early days, said Dissette, an Aurora resident and Gateway High School graduate. That core crew of actors, singers and techies didn’t have the same backgrounds as the rest of their peers in the metro area’s theater scene, he added.
“If you’re in high school and you’re in a wheelchair, they’re not going to cast you,” Dissette said. “This ain’t ‘Glee’ ... They don’t always get the opportunities to learn the basics.”
Twenty-two years later, the company has moved far beyond its awkward phase. Nationally renowned for its unique artistic mission and its high caliber performances, PHAMALY has become a springboard of sorts for its members.
The résumé of company veteran Lucy Roucis includes a role in the 2010 film “Love and Other Drugs,” and crooner Leonard Barret Jr. has juggled PHAMALY parts with a host of lead roles in musicals and solo shows. PHAMALY has picked up several local arts awards, and it’s been the focus of several national news outlets.
As the troupe winds up its run of the 1960s musical “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying” at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the comparisons to the early days are hard to avoid. It seems it’s impossible to avoid meditating on how far the company has come.
“It’s not been easy. We’re mixing disabilities, we’re mixing experience levels,” said PHAMALY Artistic Director Steve Wilson, who has steered the direction of the company for the past 11 years. “But I think everything has developed. Because we’ve tried to nurture our actors, the acting has gotten better, the singing has gotten better, I have gotten better working with the company.”
The company, which splits its stage time between the Aurora Fox theater and the DCPA for its annual musical, has honed its craft through years of experience, but time has not dulled its taste for creative risk. Their current musical dates from 1961, but the vintage view of office politics, sexism and ambition has offered new challenges for a company that’s used to pushing the envelope.
“It was meant to poke fun of the reality at the time,” Wilson said. “I would say that I don’t think it’s completely an era gone by. Everyone can acknowledge the current issues as they relate to the war of the sexes and the equality of men and women. People in power are still playing foul,” he added, citing headlines as recent as shamed New York politician Anthony Weiner.
The musical offered PHAMALY chances to add their own unique commentaries on the setting and tone of the piece. In place of the World Wide Wicket Company, for example, PHAMALY has changed the name of the fictional corporation to the World Wide Wheelchair Company. The last production of the troupe’s season has also offered a chance to spotlight a new company member with a different disability: Nicki Runge is the first deaf actress to perform with the troupe.
“You do see sign language in this production. I also think that it shows that people with disabilities have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else,” said Jenna Bainbridge, who’s playing Rosemary in the production. “Although it is so ‘60s, I think that there still are those women out there, whose goal it is to get married and have a family. It’s still something that should be addressed.”
Bainbridge, who starred as Belle in last year’s production of “Beauty and the Beast,” said her time with PHAMALY has given her the confidence and wherewithal to seek the spotlight in other forms, such as competing in local beauty contests. Bainbridge, who walks with a noticeable limp because of a neurological disorder, said the value of the troupe goes beyond the stage.
“When I started with PHAMALY, I was 14 and I thought that my disability was ugly and that no one would ever accept me,” Bainbridge said. “It’s allowed to accept myself, so that for pageants, I can walk around in a bikini and say, ‘This is OK. This is still pretty.’”
Such lessons are important for old and new members alike. While Runge has attracted attention for her important role as the company’s first deaf performer, the musical is also the debut production for Shannon Wilson, an Aurora resident who plays a secretary. Wilson, who has a specific type of autism known as Fragile X, said she’s still reeling from the chance to perform onstage at one of the state’s largest venues.
“It feels pretty surreal to me to come here, because the last time I was here I was in the audience,” said Wilson, who is studying theater at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. “It’s always been a dream of mine.”