What People Are Saying About Us
New York Times Feature: The Actors With Disabilities Redefining Representation
New York Times "These performers are creating a new template for the artist-as-activist, challenging their industry — and their audiences — to reconsider what inclusion really means...Could it be that, at long last, that movement is starting to become real for actors with disabilities, as it did for African-Americans in 1970s-era entertainment, for gay people in the early aughts and for Asian-Americans in the last few years? If a successful cultural transformation can be defined as the moment when you can finally stop counting heads, the first sign of that may be when you realize that at least there are heads to count."
New York Times Feature: When Disability Isn't A Special Need But A Special Skill
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New York Times "Following the lead of New York performers like Russell Harvard, who is deaf, Ali Stroker, who uses a wheelchair, and Gregg Mozgala, who has cerebral palsy, these artists are not just making theater that affirms their life experience. They are showing the rest of us how their life experience affirms, and enhances, the theater"
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New York Times "...I found the play exhilarating. It suggests how much richer the theater will be when it is truly open to artists of all kinds. Not just because those artists deserve employment but also because the canon of classics deserves reimagining to match our world."
Forbes Magazine "What resulted was a gut-busting hilarious and deeply poignant uniquely original play and a marriage of two of the coolest theater companies."
BroadwayWorld "This premiere production, presented by the Ma-Yi Theater Company in association with The Public Theater, is directed with intriguing comedic intensity and empathy by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, best known for helming the similarly dark and fascinating HAND TO GOD."
Theatre Is Easy "Teenage Dick delivers."
Playbill “When we talk about disability, or when we encounter people with disabilities, often able-bodied people are not sure what we’re allowed to ask—what’s appropriate, what’s not appropriate, what people feel comfortable with, what they don’t feel comfortable with. Ultimately, that’s a factor of each individual and their boundaries and limits. But this feels like a very open discussion and process, which I think is really exciting when that’s what the work is about.”
Forbes Magazine "What resulted was a gut-busting hilarious and deeply poignant uniquely original play and a marriage of two of the coolest theater companies."
BroadwayWorld "This premiere production, presented by the Ma-Yi Theater Company in association with The Public Theater, is directed with intriguing comedic intensity and empathy by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, best known for helming the similarly dark and fascinating HAND TO GOD."
Theatre Is Easy "Teenage Dick delivers."
Playbill “When we talk about disability, or when we encounter people with disabilities, often able-bodied people are not sure what we’re allowed to ask—what’s appropriate, what’s not appropriate, what people feel comfortable with, what they don’t feel comfortable with. Ultimately, that’s a factor of each individual and their boundaries and limits. But this feels like a very open discussion and process, which I think is really exciting when that’s what the work is about.”
A Place for Exposure: New Initiative to Nurture Writers With Disabilities
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American Theatre Magazine "Tim J. Lord Named Inaugural Apothetae and Lark Playwriting Fellow..."
American Theatre Magazine "...the Apothetae at Lark Fellowship, which will give one writer with a disability a two-year fellowship, including a $40,000 cash prize, an additional $5,000 for project-related expenses, and a $10,000 production enhancement fund. The fellowship application is due June 15. The initiative’s rationale is simple, as Mogzala says: “We should be telling our own stories. We should be exploring questions on our own, and we should be telling people how to see us.” |
New York Times Feature: Disabled Actors Are Ready, Willing & Able To Take More Roles
New York Times "Mr. Mozgala hopes that artists themselves will create opportunities. His company, the Apothetae, has commissioned playwrights with this aim. “My community, and the history of disabled people, is fascinating,” he said. “Me just walking across the street — there’s something dramatic going on.”
TEENAGE DICK: The Public Theatre/Public Studio
*There were no press reviews for this recent workshop production but the people loved, "Teenage Dick."
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"The show is super cute, very funny, darkly satirical, and surprisingly moving. It is also impeccably cast... Heathers does Shakespeare, but sweeter, with a little bit of Footloose thrown in for good measure. "
-Travis Chamberlain, Associate Curator of Performance and Manager of Public Programs at New Museum of Contemporary Art "I had such a great time working on the show, and was in awe of what you, the cast, Moritz & Mike were able to achieve, especially in such a short amount of time. It was a real pleasure to work on, and a pleasure to watch!" -Kate Murray, Public Theatre Casting Associate "Richard will never be the same! And congrats to Moritz von Stuelpnagel and the entire fantastic company for reminding me how much I DON'T miss high school...Bravi!" -Christine Bruno, Disability Advocate at The Alliance For Inclusion in the Arts |
DOWNSIZING CAMUS: Brooklyn Academy Of Music/Cripfest
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Culturebot "Downsizing Camus did just that, showing how disability can exist on stage without being the focal point, adding to the overall intricacy and humanity of a narrative."
Metro US/New York "Performers include...a staged reading of 'Downsizing Camus' by Chicago playwright Todd Bauer, who is blind." Jezebel/The Muse "What Mat Fraser's Cripfest Taught Me About 'Crip Pride' " |
THE PENALTY: Dixon Place
New York Times "The Apothetae Aims to Merge Disabilities Into the Theatrical Mainstream"
NYTheatre.com "This is, to be sure, pretty offbeat stuff...that kept me engrossed from the start until the final fadeout some 65 minutes or so later."
New York Theatre Review "Kris Thor's staging is inventive and ingenious...It is enjoyable and original with strong performances."
The Villager "...Chapman's characters always deliver when it comes to crossing the line that separates sinister impulse from violent action. That makes him particularly well-suited for this musical version of "The Penalty."
NYTheatre.com "This is, to be sure, pretty offbeat stuff...that kept me engrossed from the start until the final fadeout some 65 minutes or so later."
New York Theatre Review "Kris Thor's staging is inventive and ingenious...It is enjoyable and original with strong performances."
The Villager "...Chapman's characters always deliver when it comes to crossing the line that separates sinister impulse from violent action. That makes him particularly well-suited for this musical version of "The Penalty."