Since its first production in 2016, Perfect Circle Theater has brought together University of Oregon students, faculty and community members to create a collaborative play. PCT is a course that students enrolled in the disabilities minor can take to fulfill their field work requirement. For the entirety of spring term, PCT members have gathered for three hours, twice a week, to produce “Disabling Reality.”
Production paused after the 2018 play, due to COVID-19 interfering with the production that would have taken place in 2020. “Disabling Reality” will be PCT’s fourth production.
This year, they will perform on June 7 at 7:30 p.m. and June 8 at 2 p.m. The play will be free and will include several accessible accommodations including American Sign Language interpreters, open captioning, audio descriptions and accessible parking and seating.
“It’s not just about theater. It’s about the community,” Luna Fera said.
Fera is a participant in this year’s play. She is physically disabled, and uses a wheelchair for mobility. Fera said there is a lack of understanding of what disability really means, and how hard it can be to function in an able-bodied society.
“At the end of the day this is a play that was curated by the disabled community,” Fera said. “But it’s not necessarily for the disabled community. It’s for everybody.” Fera hopes that the audience sees the stories created by people with disabilities, and that their “mind(s) (are) open to what we can bring to the table.”
“I would say that the community students always knew that they had it in them to act and sing and write and dance. It’s just a matter of the world figuring that out, and we have a lot of innovative accessibility methods that we use to make that possible,” Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Wheeler said. Wheeler is the artistic director for Perfect Circle Theater, and also a UO professor of English, disability studies and comics studies.
“Everyone is so nice and inclusive and considerate for your needs. We’re all understanding that everyone has different needs,” Lindsey Gonzalez, a member of PCT, said. She said she has experienced a more collaborative environment while working on this play than in any production she has worked on in the past.
“They’re actually making room for you. In the theater community, normally, what the director says is what goes,” Gonzalez said. However, while working on “Disabling Reality”, she said she has been met with a collaborative space — one that welcomes everyone’s ideas and perspectives.
“Disabling Reality” features three acts. According to Gonzalez and Kendall Laycock, another PCT member, act one features realistic life stories, act two is satire and act three is fantasy. Each act has individual stand-alone stories written and produced by members of PCT.
According to Gonzalez and Laycock, to create the scripts, members of PCT took part in “story circles,” where members gather in small groups and respond to a given prompt into an audio recorder. These responses, some truthful and others fictional, were then turned into stories that will soon be brought to life in “Disabling Reality.”
Wheeler helps to decide what would make a good scene, but she also works to ensure all voices are heard and everyone’s accommodations are met.
“This is the funniest and most original and most creative and most neurodivergent show that we have ever done,” Wheeler said.
The funding for “Disabling Reality” comes from donations from Wheeler and private donors.
“Access is often the second thought to people that don’t realize it’s a luxury, and it automatically isolates me,” Fera said. She said people with physical and invisible disabilities are often barred from spaces where accessibility is not explicit — theater being one of these spaces.
“It’s just really cool to see everyone’s unique abilities and perspectives being brought to theater specifically,” Laycock said.
Wheeler will be retiring from the university as a professor in a few weeks. After her retirement, PCT will continue, and students will still be able to take it as a class through the disabilities studies. Wheeler will continue to teach this course.
“I’ve learned this is my calling. I’ve learned that making art with disabled and neurodivergent people is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” Wheeler said.
