Aktion Club Theatre entered my life in January 2022, and it has been one of my favorite experiences of college. Aktion Club is a program affiliated with Open Arts Minnesota, an organization whose mission is to “create and foster inclusive artistic activities for people with disabilities who are of diverse abilities and ages seeking opportunities to discover their unique creative gifts, develop and practice skills, and share their creations in a supportive, compassionate environment”. Aktion Club came across my radar in the fall of 2021 in a conversation with Leah regarding this competency and how I could integrate theatre. Later that day, I made unintentional first contact with the group. An actor from Aktion Club came to one of the first rehearsals of Good for Otto by David Rabe to have an open discussion about what it is like to be an adult with a disability and how to respectfully portray characters with mental illness or disability, as many of the actors in that show had to do. It was the perfect happenstance connection I needed to inspire me to get involved with this organization. A few weeks later, I reached out to Wilbur Frink, the Executive Director of Open Arts Minnesota, and planned to join them in January as they continued work on two productions that would perform in June and August.

 

          When I went to my first Aktion Club rehearsal, I didn't know what to expect. Disability comes in many forms, none of which I have much experience with, so I expected it to be comparable to working in theatre with children. That was my biggest bias that was checked at the door. Almost all of the actors at Aktion are adults, and the only true comparison that can be made to children is the unchecked joy experienced as they interact with their friends and the material presented to them. It is incredibly demeaning to an adult to be perceived as a juvenile, and that was nowhere near reflective of my experience interacting with Aktion actors. There is a very strong sense of maturity among Aktion Club, and everyone is very independent with accommodations to suit their needs. Some actors have physical aids for sight, movement, or hearing, some live in group homes, and some take classes to develop skills for work so they may afford to live more independently instead of with a family member. All of this develops a maturity that cannot be mistaken for juvenility, and I felt it the moment I entered the room on day one. When I got there, Wilbur told me I was welcome to just watch or lead a theatre game, so I chose to watch and just get to know people for the first day. I was immediately welcomed with open arms. Everyone was just so excited to be there and share space, and they were so eager to have a college theatre student in their midst. Much of this rehearsal was talking about what the rest of the year would look like and catching up with old friends, but the next rehearsal was much more structured. While I volunteered with Aktion Club, we put up two productions. The first show we worked on was called Mary’s Play, written by Mary Templin and Wilbur about Mary’s life, her journey with disability, and her drive to get married. Mary narrated her own play with her husband by her side, and three different actors played different versions of herself throughout her life. It was inspiring to hear about her time as a ward of the state living at the Faribault State Hospital where she fed and bathed other kids, how she got out of there and grew her independence, found love, and is still so optimistic and driven. One of my favorite details about this show is that we performed it at Centenary Methodist Church in Mankato- the same church she got married in over 30 years ago.

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           Theatre can be incredibly ableist, from playwriting to casting. Theatre is about telling of the human experience, so sometimes there will be plays with disabled characters that are portrayed as stereotypes as opposed to the nuanced humans that they are. Sometimes this is due to the casting choices made, as disabled actors are rarely cast, and sometimes it is due to the playwriting itself. Theatre, especially as of late, is making conscious efforts to cast shows inclusively, but there is still a major disparity in casting disabled actors in disabled roles. Additionally, there is very little content accurately portraying disabled characters and stories. That is why Aktion Club writes many of the plays they put on, but they have done specific inclusive productions of shows like Beauty and the Beast as well. Hopefully, this is something we will see more of on a large scale in the future. I know I will make every effort to do this in my work in the future as well.

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           The main play we worked on was called Turning Towards Each Other: A Kaleidoscope of Community, which they began working on in 2018. It was set to perform in August 2020, but COVID made it so that it was pushed to August 2022. Written by Wilbur with input from the actors themselves, the performance focused on four of the pillars of Aktion Club, associating each one with a “color team”: Yellow, Self-Determination (“Skills plus choices equals self-determination!”). Green, Celebrating Gifts and Talent Through Opportunity (“We all have gifts and talents!”). Red, Love and Relationships (“We Champion Love!”). Blue, Belonging and Inclusion (“Free to be who we are meant to be”). Each color team ended their section with personal manifesto “I am” statements based on the work of poet Meg Day. Musical interludes and skits by cast members were also integrated. It was such a heartwarming show highlighting the unique talents of all present in a very inclusive way. When this show was performed in August, I was a shadow, meaning I prompted those whose lines needed to be fed to them for accessibility, helped with props, and danced with and energized the cast, especially the Rainbow team.

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           There were a few moments as we approached our technical rehearsals where I found myself feeling nervous about where we were at for memorization and performance quality, but that’s not what Aktion Club is about at all. That was my educational bias coming in, and as soon as I realized that I turned it off and focused on the fun of the art for these actors. At MSU, we do so many productions to create professional-grade art, which can often be very draining, and it was invigorating to enter a space where everyone was just excited to be there and have fun. Theatrical works are called “plays”, and at the collegiate level, this playful nature can get lost- but that is first and foremost for Aktion Club. Because of the nature of this performance, it was easily my favorite production I’ve ever been a part of, and I am so grateful I got to be part of it.

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           One of the biggest challenges for me was adapting my language and communication to actors of different abilities, especially those who were blind or hard of hearing. I am an extroverted person who loves to communicate with everyone and make them feel included, so I made a point to watch how other people were interacting with those with communication barriers and apply that to my communication as well. I learned to introduce myself or announce my presence around my friends who can’t see as well and, on a few occasions, guided actors hard of sight to chairs or around barriers. Most of the actors who were hard of hearing were not fully deaf and could understand you well if you spoke very clearly, but I always wished I could communicate more effectively with them. I was worried I would come across as disrespectful if I spoke too loudly or slowly and messing up is always so discouraging, but this was a group in which I felt safe learning through my mistakes. No one is perfect, and everyone has the best intentions in this space, so I learned quickly. I am always so impressed with how well this group communicates their needs. Seriously. If someone needs a break, they take a break. If something is too much, they make an adjustment so that it works for them. If they see that someone else needs help, they check in to see if there’s anything they can do. Aktion actors excel in executing baselines of human respect and kindness that society often blows over in their desperation to be “normal” and “high performing”. Part of the reason I think Aktion Club is so good at this kindness and welcoming nature is because it is a priority. A few years ago, they worked together to develop a culture statement made up of nine sentences that outline the principles of Aktion Club (see above). They start each rehearsal with a detailed explanation of one of these sentences, always led by actor Melissa Steel. My favorite part of the readings of these statements is the enthusiastic nodding and callouts from the actors as they hear their favorite ones and give examples of how they put them into practice. This culture is a major point of pride for the club for good reason, and this culture is one of my favorite takeaways I’ve learned from the group as a whole.