CDA ACT gives performers with physical or developmental disabilities experience in theater
In some way, shape or form, Jamie Sciarrio has been involved in CDA ACT since the very beginning.
Sciarrio was in the audience when Out of the Shadows Theater, as it was then known, produced “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” in 2016. The company features performers with physical and/or developmental disabilities, and she recalls crying tears of joy the entire show.
The next season, she joined the company as a shadow actor, someone who assists the actors if they need help with a line or remembering where to move onstage.
She stage managed the next two productions, “Mary Poppins” and “The Music Man,” before COVID put a pause on things. Before Out of the Shadows founder Wendy Carroll moved away, Sciarrio, who has been performing since she was 10 and previously worked as a resource teacher with students who needed assistance with reading and mathematics, told her she wanted to do more.
“I had told her that I would love to get more involved with the running of the theater and keep it going, because it was amazing,” she said. “If she did actually move, I was like ‘Let me know how I can help. This theater needs to stay alive. It’s too important.’ ”
Sciarrio was asked to join the theater’s board. As she recalls, she missed one board meeting, and during that meeting, the rest of the members voted her as president.
In 2021, the theater, now called Celebrating Different Abilities through Art and Community Theatre, or CDA ACT, produced “Bye, Bye Birdie,” which Sciarrio directed while also serving as board president.
She has directed each show since and is now the artistic director of CDA ACT, having stepped down as board president after serving two terms. Now, Sciarrio is focused on CDA ACT’s production of “Singin’ in the Rain Jr.,” which opens Thursday and runs through Sunday at the Salvation Army Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene.
“Singin’ in the Rain” features a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown. The musical is an adaptation of the film of the same name.
The show opens with reporter Dora Bailey (Crystal Teeters) interviewing R.F. Simpson (Quinn Hochrein), president of Monumental Pictures, director Roscoe Dexter (Jacob Watkins), actress Lina Lamont (Abbey Waterdown), her co-star and rumored fiancée Don Lockwood (Adam Ackerman) as well as Lockwood’s friend, composer Cosmo Brown (Logan Basta).
At the urging of Bailey and the audience, Lockwood shares about his early days as an aspiring actor and how he met Brown and got started in show business.
After the interview, the group enters the theater for a screening of Lockwood and Lamont’s latest film. After the screening, Lockwood pulls Lamont offstage while she is giving a speech, surprisingly with a nasally voice, in which she reveals that Lockwood is her fiancée even though the relationship is a publicity stunt.
Later, Lockwood walks to an afterparty, where he is met with crazed fans. Lockwood insists he is actually the boyfriend of a woman passing by. She introduces herself as Kathy Seldon (Dimana Sofia), an actress.
The pair playfully trade insults, and Lockwood begins to fall in love with Seldon before making his way to the afterparty. Here, he learns that Seldon is a showgirl, which upsets Seldon.
Later, Lockwood begins to figure out a plan to bring Seldon to the talking pictures currently making waves in the entertainment industry, but Lockwood is not sold on the idea.
The musical also stars Olya Scheel, Addy Mercer, Charmaine Brown, Briana Greil, Anastasia Kelley, Gisele Kelley, Megan Neary, Noah Basta, Kaylynn Brown, Judy Ludlow, Anette Enger, Brenden Smith, Steven Kirsebom, Trevor Kirsebom, Madison Brinson, Justin Mannion, Brandee Ackerman, Adison Wilson, Emily Colgrove, Maddy Reed and Sarah Grillo.
The shadow actors are Jan Frank, Joe Edge, Keith Knight, Tim Neary, Charity Edge, Liz Wilson, Rich Basta, Betsy Anderson, Deena Kirsebom, Geri Hagler, Nathaniel Ludlow, Jana Siebrecht, Josiah Mannion, Jessica Mannion, Hunter Kennedy and Sonja Enger.
Melissa Gren is the music director, Rebecca Basta is the stage manager and assistant costumer, Anna Configliacco is the assistant stage manager, and Mary Basta is the costumer and tap choreographer.
When selecting shows for CDA ACT, Sciarrio likes to get the actors involved. She will find junior versions of shows that would work for casts of between 25 and 35 performers then compile them into a PowerPoint presentation.
This time around, Sciarrio and her production team chose “Singin’ in the Rain, Jr.” themselves. The musical was a top choice previously, so she knew the performers would be interested, and as CDA ACT produced “Cinderella” last year, she knew she did not want to do another female-led show this year.
“I don’t like to cast the same people as leads over and over again, because then that stymies growth in other people, and then we appear to be cliquish,” she said. “I really want people to grow and set a goal and reach it.”
She also tries to bring variety to the theater, producing something that is more dramatic one year and something more comedic the next.
Choosing “Singin’ in the Rain” early meant the production team and cast had more time to work on choreography, build sets and ease the stress of tech week. Sciarrio also had more time to work with actors Ackerman and Sofia, playing Lockwood and Seldon, on their characters.
“They didn’t just flip on a switch and start falling in love,” Sciarrio said. “There was some resistance. There was tension. How can we communicate to actors about how to build that tension? I kept telling them, ‘Think about magnets.’ When you don’t have them facing the right way, they resist. This right now is the resistant phase. You haven’t flipped the magnet over yet.”
Sciarrio and the production team also work through choreography and set design to make sure actors who struggle with balance and those who have mobility aids feel comfortable and confident performing.
CDA ACT’s production features “fantastical” backdrops gifted from Coeur d’Alene Summer Theater. Sciarrio said the theater has helped CDA ACT with things like sets and props from the beginning.
This collaborative spirit extends between CDA ACT and My Turn Theater, which Carroll formed after moving to Spokane. My Turn Theater also offers performance opportunities for people with physical and/or developmental disabilities. After Carroll moved to California, Danny Anderson took over as artistic director.
“When Danny told me that he was taking it over now that she’s moved to California, I was like ‘Danny, what can I do to help? This is too important for us to have turf wars. This is awesome and amazing. How can I help?’ ” Sciarrio said.
Through performing, CDA ACT and My Turn actors learn skills they can take into nontheater environments.
“So many times, in special needs, we get focused in on what I can’t do,” Sciarrio said. “We get focused in on the negative. This is 100 percent positive. ‘Look at what I can do. Look at what I am doing.’ ”