Kevin Pettit of Boulder cast in internationally acclaimed director's newest theatrical production Invisible Voices: New Perspectives on Disability
Kevin Pettit, a Boulder resident, lives with a traumatic brain injury and has been chosen to be one of six Colorado adults with disabilities to tell their stories on stage in
Invisible Voices: New Perspectives on Disability. The show strips away the prejudices and biases society places on people with disabilities and exposes their stories of challenge and courage. Invisible Voices: New Perspectives on Disability will have its world premiere in Colorado Springs at THEATREWORKS on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Pettit is an actor with PHAMALY (Physically Handicapped Actors and Musical Artists League) a theater group and touring company that performs throughout the greater Denver, CO area. In addition, Pettit is a student and volunteer for the United Church of Christ and serves the Rocky Mountain Conference as a Disability Inclusion Associate. Pettit has a PhD in physics from Carleton College and was previously a professor of physics.
Meeting the Challenge, Inc., which operates the
DBTAC Rocky Mountain ADA Center, has partnered with
THEATREWORKS and
Windstar Studios, Inc., commissioning the internationally acclaimed
Ping Chong & Company to produce this compelling new theatrical production, giving voice to our nation's largest, least understood, and least visible minority group.
"The intent of 'Invisible Voices' is to change our perspective on what it means to have a disability," said
Ping Chong, founder of Ping Chong & Company. "Most of us would not think of
Albert Einstein,
John F. Kennedy,
Thomas Edison or
Elvis Presley as having a disability. But the fact is that 1 in 6 Americans live with a disability each and every day and while each person's story is unique, the societal challenges they face are common."
"Disability crosses all geographic and social boundaries, affecting people of every age, race and religion. The 'Invisible Voices' project is important because the current level of societal awareness is not adequate for the implementation of the
Americans with Disabilities Act," said
Randy Dipner, founding partner and senior advisor of Meeting the Challenge, Inc. "You can't legislate social change; people must accept it, and then expect it."
The Americans with Disabilities Act is "
a wide-ranging civil rights law for persons with disabilities that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability." Disability, in this case, is defined as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity." DBTAC Rocky Mountain ADA Center is one of 10 regional centers established and founded by the
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a division of the
U.S. Department of Education. The Center provides information, training and technical assistance to employers, people with disabilities, and other entities with responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Invisible Voices: New Perspectives on Disability is part of Ping Chong & Company's internationally acclaimed
Undesirable Elements series, an ongoing series of community-specific oral history works which examines the lives and experiences of people from the community. Each production is made with local participants testifying to their real lives and experiences. The series is designed to help communities confront and overcome cultural insularity by encouraging a greater understanding of the communities that bind us all.
The performance will be filmed and later put to DVD with a compilation of behind the scenes footage, interviews and a history of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The DVD will be distributed nationwide beginning March 2010 to coincide with the 20 th anniversary of the
signing of the ADA in July 2010.
Invisible Voices: New Perspectives on Disability will run for eight shows ending Saturday, October 17. Tickets are $25. To order tickets, call the THEATREWORKS box office at (719) 255-3232 or visit
www.theatreworkscs.org.
About Meeting the Challenge, Inc.
Meeting the Challenge, Inc. operates the DBTAC Rocky Mountain ADA Center. Its mission is to provide information on the Americans with Disabilities Act to individuals and organizations in a six state region which includes Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Center provides information, training and technical assistance to employers, people with disabilities, and other entities with responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. For more information visit
www.adainformation.org.
About Ping Chong & Company
Ping Chong is a theatre director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He is the recipient of two Obie Awards including one for Sustained Achievement in 2000, six National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, a Playwrights USA Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a TCG/Pew Charitable Trust National Theatre Artist Residency Program Fellowship, and a National Institute for Music Theatre Award, two "Bessie" Awards for Sustained Creative Achievement and for Outstanding Creative Achievement. In 1994, Mr. Chong held the Wynton Chair at the University of Minnesota, was a Bellagio Fellow in 1998, and received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Cornish College in 1999 and an honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from Kent State University in 2004. In December 2006, Ping Chong was honored with the USA Artist Fellowship in recognition of his contribution to American arts and culture. Since 1972 he has created over 50 works for the stage, which have been presented at major venues all over the world. For more information visit
www.pingchong.org.
About THEATREWORKS
THEATREWORKS is a professional theater dedicated to presenting high quality classic and contemporary theater for the benefit and enjoyment of the residents of Colorado Springs, the Pikes Peak region, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Colorado communities. THEATREWORKS was organized in 1975 as a cultural outreach program of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and since then has become the premier professional theater organization in the Pikes Peak region. For more information visit
www.theatreworkscs.org.
About Windstar Studios
Windstar Studios, Inc. was established in 1983 and over the past quarter-century has grown into the Rocky Mountain region's leading full-service production facility. On any given day, projects range from producing radio and television commercials to filming TV series, corporate videos, educational programs and creating interactive DVDs. Windstar Studios has been honored to receive two CLIO awards, 23 regional and national ADDY Awards, 16 TELLY awards, and two GMA Dove music awards. For more information visit