By Lauren Young
Staff Writer
This is the second year and fourth semester for the Front Row Players theatre group, but founder Deb Cavanagh is still in disbelief at the impact such a small vision has made.
“Christine [Byrnes] and I, every now and then, say to each other, ‘Can you believe we did this?” she said.
While there are many theatre groups in Syracuse, none of them truly showcase the talent of people of all abilities like this one.
The Front Row Players is an all-inclusive theatre group, featuring adults with special needs ranging from cerebral palsy to Down Syndrome. The group’s 30 actors are currently rehearsing for their spring production, “The Wizard of Oz,” scheduled for May 12.
Setting the stage
For Amanda Cavanagh, her eye for the spotlight played a lead role in the inspiration behind her mother’s vision. Cavanagh’s daughter and her best friend Ellie Knodel had previously participated in community theatre for a few years, from elementary school to age 18. Amanda, 20, “has such as big personality” and “loves everything about being on stage,” said her mother.
Since Amanda was young, she knew she was going to be on stage, dabbling in ballet and performing in school productions. Taking after her mother in her ability to actualize her dreams, Amanda has an “amazing ability to want something and believe it’s going to happen, and somehow it does,” said Cavanagh. “This is just another example of that.”
FRP Business Manager Christine Byrnes recounted a similar situation with her daughter Maggie, 24, who also has special needs and “loves everything about musical theatre.” While she was featured in performances, she was never able to star in one. However, after graduating and aging out of the program, Amanda, Ellie, Maggie and countless other adults with special needs found that their choices to carry on with their passion for musical theatre had dramatically decreased.
While actors with special needs are featured on stage and occasionally in big ensembles, they are rarely given leading roles. “Community theatre is very, very competitive,” said Cavanagh. “In Syracuse, it’s especially hard. Even if you were a really talented actor, it’s really hard,” she said. “The thought was, could I create a group that would allow these adults, who love and have such a passion for musical theatre, to be the stars of the show, and have it be their show. Not just a show where they’re in, but in the back.”
“The special needs community is very small, probably about three percent of the population,” Byrnes said. Despite their small population size, the group brings big heart to their performances. The actors, with ages ranging from nearly 18 to mid-40s, have a passion that “jumps off the stage,” said Cavanagh. “The energy that they bring to the rehearsals and their performances is unbelievable.”
Casting their direction
While Cavanagh and Byrnes mastermind behind the organization, they have three directors who run the show. Director Christopher Rogers, Assistant Director and Choreographer Shannon Tompkins and Musical Director Dr. Kay Paulson have experience working with special needs children in their respective fields and diverse experiences, and were all a “perfect fit” for the theatre group, said Cavanagh.
Together, the three directors pick which musicals to perform, based on the interests and abilities of their actors, and how to best showcase the abilities of all their actors. “The goal is to give each actor time on stage to really showcase them and give them a meaningful role in it,” said Cavanagh. “They try to find shows that will allow them to do that.”
Just like any other performance, auditions are held for the actors and the directors cast the roles. “We’re always striving for that true musical theatre experience, so we make them audition even if they don’t want to,” said Cavanagh.
While most of the girls had preferences to portray Dorothy, some had other characters in mind. For Chrissy DiCosimo, she auditioned to be the Wicked Witch of the West, and landed the role. Another actor wanted a role that originally wasn’t a role at all. “The directors weren’t going to cast a Toto, they were just going to use a puppet or a stuffed animal,” said Cavanagh. But on audition day, Carly Resseguie showed up and was adamant about portraying Dorothy’s furry companion. “So she auditioned for Toto, and they gave it to her,” said Cavanagh. “Toto actually has lines; he barks and ‘grrrs.’”
Searching for talent
In her quest to find interested actors, Cavanagh found many through Medicaid after speaking with service coordinators about interested adults for their program. In their first semester, Front Row Players started out with 13 actors, comprised mostly by those they knew and by word of mouth. By the spring semester they grew by 17, and by fall they moved up 24.
During their first semester in Fall 2016, the Front Row Players performed scenes from five different musicals, similar to a cabaret, with scenes from “Beauty and the Beast” to “High School Musical.” In the spring of last year, they performed a junior version of “Seussical the Musical,” and this past fall they performed “Destination Rock n’ Roll,” which featured songs from the 40s to the 70s.
Currently, 28 actors comprise the organization, and all actors are featured in every show. Some actors even get to play multiple roles. For Amanda Cavanagh, she will play the mayor of munchkin city, a jitterbug and a flying monkey in the musical.
While some interested special needs persons haven’t signed up to join the troupe just yet, directors see the spark of inspiration created after every performance in the eyes of budding actors. Cavanagh herself has a friend who has a special needs son, and while he has attended multiple performances he is still hesitant to join. Every time, however, “he considers it a little more,” she said.
Skill building and growth
On and off the stage, actors learn skills ranging from performing chorography, articulating and memorizing lines, coordinating with other actors and timing, said Cavanagh. “They’re focused, and want to do this so badly, that it helps to elevate those skills in a way they feel like they’re not even working on them,” she said. “There is so much skill-building that happens.”
Socialization is another benefit, as adults within the special needs community sometimes become isolated. “Our actors have a broad range of abilities,” said Cavanagh. “We have hams who want to be front and center every moment and have no shyness about them, then we have some shyer actors, we have some actors who have amazing voices and can match pitches, while we have other actors just finding their voices.”
“It’s amazing [working with the actors],” said Shannon Tompkins. “It’s new and exciting very week.” Tompkins is the assistant director and choreographer for Front Row Players, and has over 35 years of experience, and has worked in the Syracuse area for eight years as a teaching assistant in for special needs students. “There’s a wide variety of abilities and a wide variety of personalities,” said Tompkins. “But we’re able to accommodate for just about anything.”
“They all work so hard,” said Dr. Kay Paulson. “And we’ve seen growth.” Paulson has over 40 years of experience as a professional singer and as a primary, secondary and post-secondary music teacher. While the first day of rehearsal is spent reviewing lines, Paulson said some actors had taken it upon themselves to prepare beforehand. “This time for the read through, they had already highlighted their lines and started practicing them,” said Paulson.
Paulson said that one of the most dramatic growths that she has witnessed came from a mostly non-verbal actor with autism who made a breakthrough during the final performance. After struggling to full extend his arm during a musical number, he was able to so during their live show. “I just about almost teared up,” said Paulson. “After that, we gave him a few lines in the next show and he did it,” said Tompkins.
“It’s just amazing, really. I get teary during rehearsals because you can see how excited they are,” said Cavanagh. “Over time, the growth they show in their performances is amazing. People come to our performances and they’re in tears because the actors are so thankful to be given this opportunity,” she said. “It’s been inside them all this time, but they never had the opportunity to let it show. They feed off the energy of the audience and the audience gives them such support.”
“Being who they are too, there’s a lot of inhibitions they don’t have,” said Tomkins. “I’m terrified to do certain things on stage, and I’m thinking about every single moment I could screw up. That doesn’t exist for them; they just want to do it. They’re pretty determined.”
Setting the spotlight on support
In her search for a space to practice, Cavanagh said she is thankful for the “wonderful relationship” they have with Eastern Hills Bible Church in Manlius, where the group rehearses. After reaching out to Frank Vair, inclusion director at the church, they had their request approved, which allows them to rehearse every Saturday. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” she said.
Through Medicaid funding, most actors have mentors who come and support them, along with a group of theatre students from Fayetteville-Manlius high school who volunteer every week. F-M is performing their own musical, “Cinderella,” next week, and over 70 actors with families and friends will be attending. “It’s going to be awesome,” said Cavanagh.
The organization vows to keep their costs for their actors to a minimum so they can access the funds through Medicaid support. “We don’t want to make it something that’s really hard for them to be able to do,” said Cavanagh.
Tobi Scheck, who is a volunteer at the program, said what Byrnes and Cavanagh have created is “amazing.” “Such a wonderful group of people. For this is be available is just fabulous,” she said.
The organization is currently seeking grants and corporate sponsorships, and is looking forward to a good turnout on May 12. “We would love to have a sold-out show for our actors,” said Cavanagh, which would fill approximately 425 seats. “It would be awesome to have a sold-out show because the energy in the auditorium when they perform is so great, and they feed off it,” she said. “The more they feel, they more they give. It’s magic, really.”
Not only do their actors give great performances, but so do their volunteers. The Front Row Players thanks their F-M student volunteers for their hard work and dedication to the organization, adding that they step up and help whenever help is needed, with no qualms or hesitations, Cavanaugh said. “Our directors are amazing, this program wouldn’t be a success without them,” she said.
“We always operate under the assumption of presumed competence. I just presume they can do things until they show me they can’t,” said Byrnes. “At the end of the day, the performance isn’t about a perfect performance,” said Cavanagh. “It’s about the growth the actors have experienced throughout the semester and showing what they learn.”
The group rehearses on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Eastern Hills Bible Church on 4600 Enders Road in Manlius. They are always seeking volunteers to assist at rehearsals and help the actors on stage with lines, blocking, augmenting and singing.
The Front Row Players will present “The Wizard of Oz” at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, at Eastern Hills Bible Church, located at 8277 Cazenovia Road, Manlius.
For more information on upcoming events, visit frontrowplayers.org.
