Colleen Altman and Sam Radinsky have been performing for a little over a decade.
Between the two of them, the 25-year-old friends have acted in renowned plays in the Chicago area, including The Curse of the Tempest Jewel, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet.
Altman and Radinsky help coach other actors, too.
Their acting journeys have flourished thanks partly to A.B.L.E., or Artists Breaking Limits & Expectations, a nonprofit that provides performing arts experiences for people with Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Both Altman and Radinsky have Down syndrome.
“It feels really nice and welcoming,” Radinsky said of A.B.L.E. “You’re welcomed here, and it’s so special.”
A.B.L.E. was founded in 2016 by Katie Yohe, a trained performer with credits ranging from musicals to Shakespeare both in the U.S. and abroad.
In 2010, after working as an actor for years and feeling a bit jaded, Yohe saw a Facebook post from a friend seeking volunteers to help start a drama club at Gigi’s Playhouse Chicago, a nonprofit whose mission is to change the way the world views Down syndrome.
Yohe jumped on board. She helped her friend start a drama club on Friday nights at the nonprofit where she first met Altman and Radinsky.
“Initially, we had just seven actors, but it snowballed pretty quickly,” Yohe said. “We got more and more people through word of mouth, and we went from seven actors to 25 within two years.
“And it just felt like this thing obviously has legs. It’s something that the community wants from us.”
So Yohe founded A.B.L.E. while also returning to school to get a master’s in applied theater drama education.
For Yohe, creating this organization was personal. As a young, aspiring actor, Yohe would perform at nursing homes, veterans hospitals, and even residential facilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. At one residential facility, the residents would perform too for Yohe and her team, creating what she called a “collaborative and wonderful process for everyone.” Then, when she attended college at Syracuse University, she volunteered with a troupe called, at the time, The Young Actors Workshop for people with disabilities. With this group, they would put on cabarets and a show each semester.
Yohe said this was her “most valuable piece of undergraduate education.”
“So, as I got more and more into the professional world, I really missed that,” said Yohe. “So, when Mallory [her friend seeking volunteers at Gigi’s Playhouse] put that call out to go volunteer, I was like, I could use some fun and good vibes.
“And the more I work with this community; I think it’s easy to step up as an advocate because you also start to see some of the real challenges folks are up against.”
A.B.L.E. began by serving 20 actors. In the last seven years, it has grown to provide a performing arts space to nearly 60 actors per year. At A.B.L.E., actors can get involved in various programming, including ensembles where participants create and perform live shows or recorded film projects. In addition, they have workshops that delve into a specific skill set, like puppetry, on-camera acting, or improvisation; lastly, A.B.L.E. also has an outreach program where they share their work with other organizations and schools.
At A.B.L.E. Altman, who typically enjoys dramatic roles and anything that involves singing, has played significant parts like Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac, and Alice in Alice In Wonderland. Radinsky has also had leading roles like Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac.
“Acting and being in plays is fun,” Altman said. “When I’m on stage, I’m happy and excited.”
In the last year, Altman and Radinsky have also become creative associates with A.B.L.E., which they auditioned for in the fall of last year. As creative associates, the two were part of a six-week training that coached them on how to teach fellow participants. As creative associates, they get paid for their work.
When the pandemic began in 2020, A.B.L.E. pivoted to creating content over Zoom. But on Saturday, November 19, they will return to the live stage for their latest festival, Reconnect, which will include workshops and performances devised and presented by A.B.L.E. ensembles.
“We’re sharing a lot of personal experiences, so we are doing monologues and sharing our personal experiences about connection and our missed connections or not connecting, so there are lots of different pieces in there,” Yohe said.
As the A.B.L.E. participants prepare for their next show, Yohe said she hopes their story inspires other productions to include people with disabilities in their performances.
“I think the bigger dream is that people see our work and realize they could be hiring someone with a disability in the workplace or casting someone with a disability,” Yohe said.
“So we hope we get to start a sea change, and maybe it’s not as exceptional that we’re out here doing the work we’re doing.”