As a child, I always secretly wished for an acting career. I honestly believed that as an adult I’d fly off to Hollywood, join one of the film studios, and make it big as an actress. Then, I realised that good actors can only make it big in parliament, so I gave up on that dream and started producing good report cards instead.
Eventually, theatre groups and drama schools started to sprout all over Malta, but I felt that I was too old to join and never gave it a shot. It was probably a good decision because despite the many violin and ballet classes that I was forced to attend, I still can’t hold a tune nor dance.
Today, I attend almost every theatrical performance that I can get tickets for, I also tune in to Bondi + for an extra theatrical fix, but I’ve long given up on my life-on-stage dream. Instead I've convinced myself that this blog will satisfy all my childhood illusions of grand fame. (grin)
Then, three years ago, my brother, who is now in his thirties and suffers from severe learning disabilities, joined a theatre group. Despite the many setbacks that come with his condition he totally outdid me on this one. Unlike me, he didn’t let his fear of failure get in the way, and is now about to appear in his second performance in front of a live audience.
His drama group is called ‘Opening Doors’, and it’s made up of nine men and women who have different learning disabilities ranging from autism, to downs syndrome. In 2010 they performed their first play called Moi et Nous, and they also travelled to perform and train in Belgium and the UK. Together with their trainers they’ve spent the whole of 2011 attending workshops and preparing for this second performance.
Being familiar with the high demands and difficulties that people with learning difficulties face, I’m mesmerized by the patience and skill required to carve out a career in this area. But Opening Doors’ artistic director Lou Ghirlando, chooses not to focus on her casts’ disabilities, and instead taps into their creativeness saying “this is their space, their aesthetic wishes are prioritized.”
Their second performance is called ‘Bejn it-Triq u Jiena’. It takes an artistic look at moments in people’s lives: what they encounter, who they encounter, and where. The performance is an original creation giving form to ideas expressed by the actors.
Most often, people with a disability are not recognized as adults and most are treated as children. This drama group works against that stigma by encouraging the actors to improvise and to have their improvisations incorporated into the performance. It also challenges the long standing assumption that people with a disability are not sexual, by putting romance at the centre of their performances.
The actors and crew have been working incredibly hard and excitement among the cast and crew is running high as are audience expectations. All the actors have willingly missed out on festive fun to attend rehearsals, and because most depend on their families for transport, at times it is a struggle to have them understand that this is fundamental to their development and not just a way for people with disabilities to kill time.
Opening Doors have performed in Brussels and the UK. They held their first local performance to a full house in November 2010 and for the first time this year, the group will be charging an entry fee, which believe me, will be worth every penny.
‘Bejn it-Triq u Jiena’ will be performed in the theatre of St. James Cavalier on the 21st and 22nd of January at 7.30pm. Tickets can be bought for €8 from St. James Cavalier by phoning 21223200 or visiting the website www.sjcav.org