Why should those with disabilities and those without come see DARK DISABLED STORIES?

RYAN J. HADDAD (RH): It’s sexy and audacious and entertaining. It’s surprising and complicated and messy and real. This play is about everyday encounters that disabled people will find funny and super relatable, while nondisabled people will probably find them shocking and possibly absurd. The great thing is that the stories in DARK DISABLED STORIES are fairly self-contained, so if you don’t like one, just wait a few minutes and we’ll move on to the next! We’re also creating a multi-layered access experience that I hope disabled people will find very welcoming.

ALEJANDRA OSPINA (AO): Disabled people will find something to identify with in this show, whether or not they live in New York, have cerebral palsy, or are Deaf. They will feel with us, what it’s like to just try to live our adult lives in a world that doesn’t expect or understand us, because it hasn’t been paying attention. People who aren’t part of a disability community should come and be reminded that disabled people are everywhere. We’re also funny, sexy, angry, talented, exasperating and everything else that anyone can be, and that doesn’t really change because we move through, communicate with, and experience the world in a way that might be unfamiliar.

How do you feel that the arts industry is working to become more accessible for performers/artists and attendees?

DICKIE HEARTS (DH): In a perfect world, Martha’s Vineyard, which once had a large deaf population, would make a comeback where everyone “spoke” sign language. Public announcements would have either ASL interpretation or captions, whether in public transit or the store. That’s real access. For the industry, there’s progress, which I appreciate, but it’s not happening fast enough, compared with our nondisabled peers. There is never enough representation of the Deaf, let alone Deaf queer BIPOC.

Tell us a little bit more about your journey as a performer/artist.

RH: Back when I was a toddler, I would crawl around the living room and act out classic Disney princess movies by myself, playing all the parts. Then I forced my family to join me in playing the other parts, and I called it The Haddad Theater. These family plays lasted (shockingly) for eight years, and then I moved to youth, community, and educational theater. In college I met Tim Miller, a wonderful solo performer and mentor, who told me I could make autobiographical work and play myself onstage, which is how I arrived on this path.

DH: As an actor, I’ve been in the industry for 12 years and have worked both in TV and onstage, which I equally love.

AO: As a young disabled kid in New York, I was shy, but I knew I liked the arts, and I liked being around other kids who did, too. But it took attending my own “crip camp” in New Jersey and performing in its talent shows to really catch the performing bug. I helped start the Fearless Theater Company in 1994, which sought to foster young artists with and without disabilities.

After that, I couldn’t quite reach the opportunities and experiences that would help me keep growing as a disabled performer in a mainstream world. In 2018, I joined the inaugural cohort of the Theatre for All training program for Deaf and disabled actors at Queens Theatre. Since then, I’ve been able to return to training and performance, alongside my work as an audio description provider for blind and visually impaired audiences, and as an audiobook narrator.

DARK DISABLED STORIES currently runs from February 28 to March 26 at The Public Theater located at 425 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003. The show offers Open Captions, Audio Descriptions, and American Sign Language at every performance. More information at PublicTheater.Org/DDS.