Troupe Integrates Disabled Performers Into the Act

By Michael Toscano
Special to the Washington Post
Thursday, July 14, 2005; Page GZ11

Open Circle Theatre has come a long way in a short time. The
company, which is the area's first professional theater enterprise
to integrate artists with disabilities as part of its core mission,
staged its first show in a downtown DC cafe just two summers ago.

More recently, the company's home was a crumbling, leaky warehouse in
an industrial area near Crystal City. But several top Helen Hayes
Award nominations this spring for its distinctive and creatively
updated version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" gave Open Circle artistic
recognition on a level with some of the area's most
prestigious theaters. Now, the unique troupe has a temporary new
home in Silver Spring and, perhaps, a new level of acceptance from the
theater community and the public.

The group is staging Bertolt Brecht's scathing satire "The Caucasian
Chalk Circle" at Round House Theatre Silver Spring. It's an ambitious
undertaking, with a three-hour running time and more than 90 roles
performed by a cast of 16, some with various disabilities, others
without. Directed by Silver Spring's Grady Weatherford and the
District's Monique Holt, who is deaf, the production combines humor
with Brecht's pointed observations on war, property, selfishness and
authority.

Set in the Caucasus Mountains of what is now the Republic of Georgia
after World War II, the tale focuses on two groups of peasants warring
over a valley. One faction wants a traditional, old-
fashioned life while the other favors modern advances in agriculture
and industry in a fable that attacks injustice and social inequality.

In a play-within-the-play that constitutes most of the presentation,
a folk tale that can be traced to ancient China is enacted. It's the
story of a housemaid named Grusha (Suzanne Richard) who rescues the
infant son of a murdered governor when his family flees insurgents.
Years later, a judge must decide whether Grusha will keep the child or
return him to the mother (Maggie Glauber) who carelessly abandoned
him. Both the struggle over the land and the fight over the child
force the audience to choose sides, as Brecht challenges conventional
views of how society should be ordered.

Some hearing-impaired actors use American Sign Language to
communicate, with speaking actors occasionally delivering
simultaneous orations for them. Other actors have worked with the
directors to create original gesture-based forms of expression,
which Holt, who was born in South Korea, explained through
interpreter Tim Chamberlain.

"The original language of people was gesture," she said. "Visual
communication is an important part of language. As deaf people, we
depend almost 75 percent on that. In the same way, we're using
gestures onstage."

The result is a performance style that integrates artists with
disabilities into the production without overtly pointing to their
differing styles. This enhances rather than detracts from the play's
message, occasionally adding a dramatic edge that might not
otherwise exist.

Holt and Weatherford say they each worked equally with hearing and
hearing-impaired actors, which Weatherford described as a "learning
experience" for him. "I think MoMo [Holt] really developed the
physical style of the performances, while I concentrated on
interpreting Brecht, who often has characters saying one thing while
meaning something quite the opposite," Weatherford said. All
performances are audio described for blind or low-vision patrons.

The play represents a significant challenge for Richard, Open
Circle's artistic director and one of the group's star performers.
The 34-year-old Rockville resident has been acting in professional
productions since age 12 and has not let osteogenesis imperfecta, a
genetic disorder characterized by bones that break easily, impede her.

Most recently, she played in the Washington Shakespeare Company's
production of Tennessee Williams's "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here
Anymore" in a role where her disability was irrelevant. Standing four
feet tall, she generally moves with the aid of crutches or a
wheelchair. In this production, though, she abandons her crutches and
climbs over the backs of actors representing the mountains, carrying a
makeshift "baby" and singing all the while.

"Rehearsing it was more draining than actually doing it," Richard
said. "Once we get it up and running, it's just a train going along
and you can see the beginning and the end of what you're going to
have to do, so it's not as exhausting."

Staging a play with a heavy political message, even one that
includes a fair amount of humor both broad and subtle, is risky for
the troupe. Audience response may determine whether the high-profile
Round House facility becomes the regular venue for the company.

"We're hoping to make this our permanent home," Richard said. "But a
lot will depend on the reaction of the community and the feedback
Round House gets."

"The Caucasian Chalk Circle" continues through July 24, performed by
Open Circle Theatre at Round House Theatre Silver Spring, 8641
Colesville Road, next to the AFI/Silver Theatre. Showtime is 8 p.m.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday; with a 2 p.m. matinee Saturday and
Sunday; and a 7 p.m. performance Sunday, July 17 only. To purchase
tickets, call 800-494-8497 or visithttp://www.boxofficetickets.com.
For reservations, call 240-683-8934. For information, including
questions regarding accessibility,