Phamaly Theatre Company – A Review of DisLabeled – Boulder, CO
by Taylor Mason
Mikelle, Katherine and I were recently invited by the Phamaly Theater Co. to see DisLabeled, their comedic play highlighting many common misconceptions that “typicals”, or able bodied people, make about being disabled. PTC (Phamaly Theater Co. as I will from here on refer to it) has asked Mikelle to be an honorary chair person at their Benefits Gala on June 15th so checking out one of their productions was a no-brainer! Us girls arrived late which while unfortunate, is part of life. Everyone was extremely polite and accommodating and we got to see most of the play.
Once we were settled in we were free to sit back and laugh with the rest of the crowd. There were about ten actors and each one represented a particular disability and spoke about the many misconceptions associated with each as well as the many blunders made by typicals. Each short skit or part in the play focused on why disability is not synonymous with incapability.
The real beauty of DisLabeled is that these are real people with real disabilities and here they are, bravely acting out very realistic situations that could easily cause discomfort or uneasiness but they do it in a manner that is hilarious and informative all at once. I can say with complete sincerity that there more times than I can count throughout the performance where I felt that laugh, the belly laugh, that bubbles out when your funny bone is tickled.
It’s difficult to chose a favorite part but I will! While the play on a whole was very interesting and humorous I really enjoyed the Q&A at the end of the show. The set up was clever and it allowed the audience to connect with the cast on a more personal level. The questions provided were well thought out and answered some common questions about disabilities. I think that perhaps there could have been a littlre more time for that sections but I can’t complain!
PTC brought DisLabled back for a second year because of popular demand and you can easily see why. Though this year’s performance had completely new material it still got the right message across. So here’s to you PTC and also to you, DisLabeled cast and crew, congratulations on a job done well!
Phamaly 2013 Circle of Stars Gala
We here at The Shining Beautiful are very pleased to be working with Phamaly Theatre Company and we’d like to take a moment to promote their upcoming Circle of Stars Gala! Just click the link above to watch a short video all about the big night. At the event you’ll enjoy previews of upcoming performances, food and drinks, both live and silent auctions, music, dancing and don’t forget that you’ll be supporting a fantastic organization! Mikelle’s position as honorary co-chair person for the gala means we’ll see you there!