This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 18, 2010 - The actresses playing Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher both have their own favorite moments in the DisAbility Project’s production of “The Assorted Short Adventures of Tom, Huck and Becky.”
For Ana Jennings, who plays Becky, it’s the cave scene, where she and Tom are trapped. There they sing a duet about the promise of freedom.
“To me, it speaks to me,” says Jennings, who has a spinal cord injury and uses a wheelchair.
“It says so much about not being afraid to go forward and live your life.” For Margaret Jorgensen, who plays Tom, it’s the song called “Outside Looking In.”
“We don’t want to be left out, that’s one of the lyrics,” says Jorgensen, who has degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis and also uses a wheelchair.
Though both actresses have their own favorite moments in the production, both moments speak to the heart of the show and the work of the DisAbility Project itself -- looking at the world through someone else’s perspective.
During the past 14 years, the DisAbility Project has performed for more than 75,000 people, says Joan Lipkin, producer and artistic director for That Uppity Theater Company.
Lipkin, who started the DisAbility Project along with an occupational therapist, says she always notices who’s not in the room. One group that's often left out is people with disabilities, she says, and so the DisAbility Project gives people a way to tell their stories and share their own experiences. Often, vignettes focus on culture and challenges faced, such as transportation, employment and accessibility.
Jennings has been involved with the DisAbility Project for the last 10 years. “I’ve played many roles,” she says, including performing a disability rap.
Jorgensen, who didn’t think she’d perform after becoming disabled, got involved about five years ago and regularly drives up from her home in Ste. Genevieve for practices and performances.
When Lipkin heard about the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read program and that Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was one of the stories, it seemed like a great chance to try something new.
“I said, 'Why don’t we do a disability version of Tom Sawyer?',” she says. This is the first full production, with music and choreography, from the DisAbility Project. It’s also the first time it has adapted a story most people know.
But like with the vignettes that they tell, this version is told through a different lens. Tom is played by a woman, for one. Literacy is stressed. Becky is a feminist and doesn’t wait around for the boys to have her own adventures.
And the very idea of adventure itself is examined.
“Adventure can be seen as so many different things,” Jennings says. “Sometimes it’s just an adventure to get out of bed and into the wheelchair.”
“The Assorted Short Adventures of Tom, Huck and Becky” was written and directed by Lipkin and Aarya Sara Locker, both of the DisAbility Project and That Uppity Theatre Company. The production also features original music by local musicians. The group has 15 members.
The production will be performed at 11:30 a.m., Thurs. Feb. 18 and Feb. 25 at Washington University's 560 Trinity Music Center. Admission is free, but you do need a reservation. To make a reservation, call 314-863-2865 or e-mail evlasaty@culturalfestivals.com. For more, go to www.uppityco.com/dp.html .