Theatre is devised in a way in which everyone can share their stories. From musicals all the way down to solo pieces, none of these stories are the same since they are tailored and made unique to every piece. The same can be applied to individuals. People all have lived lives with different experiences in the world which shapes them and gives them beautiful unique stories to share. However, there is one group of talented special individuals that are often overlooked: people with disabilities. Most Northwestern students do not get to know the students with disabilities on a personal level. Many people with disabilities are excluded from specific activities or are classified in ways that taints who they are. However, with the help of the Unlabeled Theatre Company, NW’s theatre department and the NEXT Program have been able to team up and create a beautifully crafted script sharing the stories of NEXT students here on campus and their own personal life stories to try to break the stigma of students with disabilities.
“Even Though I Know” is a new script that was crafted using the stories of the NEXT students and what challenges they have faced growing up and currently face. It incorporates a crafted script using the ideas of the NW theatre department’s students. Throughout the production, a total of nine stories of students with disabilities were incorporated and have melded into a beautiful work of art. With this script, audiences get to see a glimpse of what it is like to live with challenges that affect everyday life.
Chris Moquist, founder of Unlabeled Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Minn. and father of Ailee Moquist, a student at NW wanted to shed a beacon of hope and show that people with disabilities can do more than many can imagine. “I think the main drive behind creating Unlabeled Theatre Company was the realization that people with disabilities remain unseen or overlooked in our culture. Theatre has been amazingly welcoming of nearly all groups with one massive exception. People with disabilities rarely appear on stage and have very few roles,” said Chris Moquist. “We wanted to create a unified theatre. Our shows use a double casting method we call the ‘shadow partner structure’ (an actor without a disability), and that pair creates each role together, in partnership.”
With the same drive as Unlabeled Theatre, the theatre department was able to implement the same passion that Chris Moquist had when he founded his company. “I tried to gather experience from my life, something I have done or seen of people choosing better or worse and we were able to come up with a broad story,” director Drew Schmidt said. “We were able to team up with Unlabeled Theatre who has been working with neurodivergent and disabled students for years, so they were experts in telling other’s stories in ways that it doesn’t steal other’s voices.” Schmidt, with the help of NW’s students in the theatre department, took ideas from the drawing board and was able to create a script which also shared the stories of the NEXT Program students.
Ailee Moquist gives us a small look into her daily life. “One of the challenges with my disability is that I am sensitive to minor noises. Sometimes sounds make me cover my ears because it is too overwhelming, I try not to do it in front of others, but I can’t help it. Another challenge I have faced with a non-verbal learning disability (NVLD) and asking for help when I need it, which causes my assignments to be modified,” said Ailee Moquist. However, even with her disabilities, she does not let that stop her from being involved and sharing her talents with others.
Although students with disabilities face challenges, one thing is evident. They all want to be seen, acknowledged and ,most importantly to be known. This truth comes out through the act of storytelling and people will discover what they don’t’ see in themselves. The showing of the production “Even Though I know” is Feb. 17 and 24. Tickets can be purchased online through Ticketleap or by calling the NW Theatre Department.
