Here's an opportunity for us to support a unique way of including people
with disabilities. 
 
The following article from the Tribune is a synopsis. The complete
article with picture can be found at -
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1526/5747632.html
 
 VERY INTERESTING .... PLEASE READ!....if you know of
someone with a disability...
 
WHAT: "THE MIRACLE WORKER", Torch Theater's inaugural production...
WHEN: December 2 - 18 and January 6 - 21
WHERE: Minneapolis Theater Garage, 711 Franklin Ave. W.
TICKETS: $18
CALL: 612-870-0723
 
 
Torch Theater readies for opening
 
Inspired by her nephew, actor/producer Stacia Rice decided to make the
first production of her new theater company completely accessible for
people with a variety of physical disabilities.
 
Twelve-year-old Taylor Garin gave his aunt, Stacia Rice, the idea of
inaugurating her Torch Theater Company with an accessible production he
could experience and enjoy. Taylor is blind and can't walk or talk, as a
result of meningitis. "He communicates by touching things and smiling,"
Rice said.
 
As actor Stacia Rice contemplated possibilities for the inaugural
production of her Torch Theater Company, she found inspiration in her
12-year-old nephew, Taylor Garin.
 
What if, Rice thought, she could make theater that speaks to Taylor, who
is legally blind, and can't walk or talk as the result of infant
meningitis?
 
Rice's choice of play -- "The Miracle Worker," about Helen Keller and
her teacher, Annie Sullivan -- became a metaphor for the entire
production, which opens Friday at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage.
 
The staging will be completely accessible to people who are blind, deaf,
deaf-blind, elderly or living with physical disabilities -- unusual or
unprecedented for a small theater.
 
American Sign Language interpreters for the deaf and audio describers
for the blind are volunteering their services. They will also provide
tactile tours in which blind patrons can feel the set and costumes.
 
The Vision Loss Resource Center, across the street from the Theatre
Garage, contributed programs in Braille.
 
It also provided large-print Braille captions for a lobby display on
Keller and Sullivan, and offered free valet parking for special-needs
patrons. The Guthrie lent its audio-description equipment.
 
Rice's sister, Lenni Garin (Taylor's mom), is working promotion and
administration. Dad Chris Garin is helping build the set, grandma Sandy
Garin is costuming and Taylor's sister, Lisha, is building the lobby
display.
 
"This is her passion," said Patty McCutcheon, an ASL interpreter who met
Rice last summer and is coordinating volunteers who might otherwise
charge up to $500 each for interpreting a performance.
 
"Our goal from an interpreting perspective is to introduce the community
to a theater that is committed to accessibility," McCutcheon said. "We
know their board is committed to budget for this in the future and we
want them to be recognized."
 
In addition to Taylor, Rice felt driven by two experiences this year.
 
She and two colleagues were independently producing "A Streetcar Named
Desire" last spring when someone inquired if there was an ASL
performance. No, there wasn't.
 
"I was embarrassed to have to admit that, and I said to myself that I'm
not ever going to get in this position again," she said.
 
Then last summer, while acting in the Guthrie's "The Constant Wife," she
was asked to volunteer her costume for a "tactile tour," something with
which she was not familiar.
 
"I thought, that is the coolest thing," she said. "And it would be the
only way for my nephew to experience theater, to touch the stuff."
 
Awareness, access growing
 
Usually with ASL, the interpreter will stand to the side of the stage
and sign the dialogue. It's difficult, McCutcheon said, because patrons
need to divide their attention between the interpreter and the stage.
Torch's production of "The Miracle Worker" is different because it puts
the interpreters on stage.
 
"The deaf will be very excited to see the actors and what's being said
at the same time," she said.
 
This time it's personal
 
Those social aims certainly figure into Rice's efforts. But this is
personal. "The Miracle Worker" is regarded in some circles as
high-school fodder not worthy of a professional company's attention. Her
choice raised eyebrows in her theater circle, but she's answering a
different calling.
 
"To see how this show affects people who are actually living some form
of it is pretty intense," she said. "The more I got into it, the more
excited I got about what it means for the theater as a whole."
 
Rice said her nephew is suffering from an immune sensitivity right now,
so he might have to wait until January to attend what would be his first
play.
 
"He communicates by touching things and smiling," she said. "I'd love to
get him under those lights and put props into his hands."
 
Graydon Royce * 612-673-7299