TRU Town Hall: Adding Accessibility to the D.E.I. Conversations

Theater Resources Unlimited has returned to live monthly panels and discussions simultaneously streamed for artists outside New York City. The next Live Town Hall will take place on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 with networking at 6:30 pm and an open forum beginning at 7:00 pm ET. The event will be held at Polaris North Studio, 245 W 29th Street, 4th Floor, NYC. For more information and to register, please visit https://truonline.org/events/adding-accessibility/.

The Town Hall will be co-hosted by Carey Cox, actor (Rolling with the Punches, TV's The Handmaid's Tale); Jo-Ann Dean, founder and CEO of SIGNmation L.L.C. and Broadway SIGNs!; Nicholas Viselli, artistic director of Theater Breaking Through Barriers; Sundra Jean Williams, actress; Marc Winski, actor (Rolling with the Punches). Co-facilitated by Lynnie Godfrey, president of the League of Professional Theater Women, and TRU executive director Bob Ost.

TRU monthly conversations address issues of current cultural significance, with a particular focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. This month we consider an often neglected aspect of theater's move towards greater inclusion: accessibility and accommodation for both artists and audiences with disabilities. For theater and all of the arts to truly reflect the human experience and represent our populations fully, it is important to be conscious of both the spectrum of disabilities and the limitless ability of artists.

Theater Breaking Through Barriers was founded in 1979 with an initial focus on showcasing the talent of blind artists and has expanded to include, as a matter of course, all artists regardless of physical challenges. For the rest of us, casting characters with disabilities by using actors who are similarly disabled is of course an ongoing goal, but breakout moments like Tony winning Ali Stoker in the most recent revival of Oklahoma! – as well as the Oscar win for deaf actor Tony Kotsur in CODA – suggests that physical limitation does not limit talent or the ability to shine in a wide range of roles. From ramps for wheelchairs and accessible bathrooms to the differences between open captioning and ASL for the deaf and hard of hearing community to the specific struggle of neuro-divergent artists, we will look at the steps we can take towards greater consciousness and accommodation. TRU offers this as an opportunity for everyone to learn from actual experiences and find ways to support each other while exploring initiatives that might bring us closer to genuine respect and acceptance. All attendees are welcome to participate in this conversation.

Doors open at 6:30pm for networking and roundtable introductions of everyone in the room – come prepared with your best 20-second summary of who you are, and what you need. The Open Forum will start at 7:00pm. Free for members of TRU, Polaris North and LPTW; $15 for non-members (with a $5 ticket option available to anyone who needs it). Please use the bright red reservation box here on our web page, or email or phone at least a day in advance (or much sooner): e-mail TRUStaff1@gmail.com

CAREY COX is an NYC-based disabled actor. Born in El Paso, TX, Carey has a BFA in Musical Theater from Santa Fe University and an MFA in Acting from UNC Chapel Hill. Carey has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in more than ten regional theater productions, including the Guthrie Theater and PlayMakers Repertory Company. A writer/performer for the 2022 Viacom/CBS Showcase, Carey currently plays Rose Blaine on The Handmaids Tale and stars in the upcoming Indie feature Where Did the Adults Go?. She recently starred in the TRU Voices presentation of Rolling with the Punches by Joel Bailey. Other passions include visual art, playwriting, singing, guitar, reading, and volunteering. Carey has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and promotes disability inclusion.

LYNNIE GODFREY is a multifaceted talent, with experience as a performer, director, and producer. She trained under Broadway luminary Lloyd Richards (renowned for directing A Raisin in the Sun) and Carnegie Hall's Dr. Chauncey Northern Sr. She was honored with the Scrimshaw Distinguished Visiting Artist Fund. Notable achievements include a drama desk nomination for her Broadway debut in Eubie! and receiving the Tyrone Guthrie Award for directing excellence. She’s also earned NAACP recognition for producing. Further accolades include Dramalogue and NAACP Awards for Supporting Actor, and an AUDELCO Award for her performance in Shuffle Along. Her recording of “Snow Queen” garnered both the Audio Earphone and Benjamin Franklin Awards, while her CD's received Grammy nods. Actively engaged in the arts community she serves on board such as the New York board of the League of Professional Theatre Women and Artsquest’s E.D.I.A. Council, among others. As president and CEO of GodLee Entertainment, Inc., and the Artistic Director of Essence of Acting Inc., she's a driving force in both business and nonprofit spheres. Her radio /podcast program “Lynnie Godfrey Straight No Chaser,” explores the arts’ societal impact. Notable performance productions like Charles White’s Unentitled and readings of new works such as Celeste Bedford Walker’s Greenwood: An American Dream Destroyed. In television and film, she appeared in Norman Lear’s 704 Hauser, 227, Amen, and LA Law, among others. She is an active member of various professional organizations and is currently President of The League of Professional Theatre Women and is the author of Lynnie Godfrey, Sharing Lessons Learned While Seeking the Spotlight. http://www.lynniegodfrey.com

NICHOLAS VISELLI joined TBTB as artistic director in 1997 and is deeply humbled to continue the legacy, started by TBTB's founding Artistic Director, his friend, and mentor, Ike Schambelan. Nick has also worked with the Pearl Theater Company, Performers Access Studio, The Oasis Theater, and The Riverside Shakespeare Co. to name a few. He studied at the Royal National Theater in London with Richard Eyre, Patsy Rodenberg, Stephen Daldry, Simon McBurney, Stephen Warbeck, and Sir Ian McKellan and is a graduate of Hofstra University. He has performed in nearly every TBTB production for the past 18 years, has also directed several plays for TBTB and has served as the company’s sound designer, travel coordinator, administrative associate, and Associate Director. He has attended seven International Theater Festivals for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Zagreb, Croatia as an actor and has served as the producer, director, and key coordinator for the company during their festival appearances in 2009 and 2011. 

SUNDRA JEAN WILLIAMS is an actress singer with a B.F.A Degree in Drama from Howard University, has performed in New York, Regional and Dinner theatres. She’s been a principal in television and radio commercials, industrial films, print ads, and guest-hosted the cable television show Yesterday Meets Today. A few of Sundra Jean’s theatre roles include Dionne in Hair at Canal Fulton Summer Arena, Akron, OH, Soul Sister in Jesus Christ Superstar at Cecilwood Theatre, Fishkill, NY, Grandma Wilhelmina Brown in The River Niger at National Black Theatre, Rosa Parks in Sistah Songs for the New Perspectives Theatre’s Voices from the Edge 4.0 Series, Mrs. Patterson in The Cotillion at New Federal Theatre, Sheila in Eddie ‘Heartbreaker’ Malone for the Women of Color Festival at New Federal Theatre, Muriel in House on Fire at Theater For the New City, and Louise in The Long Dance for PACT at the Sanford Meisner Theatre. She performed Old Lady in Pigeon, a short film screened at the VAEFF 2022 International Film Festival. Sundra Jean is a breast cancer survivor living with Multiple Sclerosis since 2005, who continues to work as an actress whenever possible, despite her mobility and other challenges. AEA, SAG-AFTRA

MARC WINSKI is an actor/singer/Disability Representation Creator in NYC and a person who stutters. He is striving to give a voice and be an advocate for people who stutter in theater/film/media/ television. Fave credits include: ABC’s 'What Would You DO?; Grease natl tour, and Disney. He appeared recently in the TRU Voices presentation of Rolling with the Punches by Joel Bailey. Using a large TIKTOK/IG following of 500,000 as a bigger platform, he continues creating content and spreading stuttering awareness with wit and creativity for the disability community, a group of people who often go (quite literally) unheard and unseen in our culture. He is helping to give many more opportunities to show truthful representation and inclusivity in our world.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-one year old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to help producers produce, emerging theater companies to emerge healthily and all theater professionals to understand and navigate the business of the arts. Membership includes self-producing artists as well as career producers and theater companies. TRU publishes an email community newsletter of services, opportunities and productions; presents weekly Community Gatherings; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and also presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, TRUSpeak: Hear Our Voices evening of short plays, Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab. Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by the Montage Foundation, The Storyline Project and the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For more information about TRU membership and programs, visit http://www.truonline.org.