By Jessica Harden
The President’s Commission on Disability Issues at UMD hosted a Q&A event called Disability Creativity: A Conversation with Entertainers and Artists on Nov. 19.
The event was hosted as a part of Disability Awareness Month, which is in October, and allowed a panel of disabled artists to share their experiences.
Alumni member of the President’s Commission and stand-up comedian, Adith Thummalapalli, pitched and hosted the event.
“I just wanted to sort of show how individuals with disabilities have other parts that make them who they are, it’s not just all about their disability,” Thummalapalli said. “Sure that’s a big part of them, but [I wanted to] showcase the fact that people with disabilities are people first.”
The event was just under two hours and a total of six panelists took turns answering questions sent in by attendees about their experiences as disabled artists.
Jade Theriault, a comedian based in Los Angeles said people’s worth in comedy is not just based on if they are funny, but also whether or not they look cool.
“I faced stigma my whole life just for being visibly disabled,” Theriault said. “When I first started out in comedy, no one wanted to talk to me. People steered very clear of me and if I had a bad set that night, it was over.”
Theriault has since gained respect from her peers but said she felt alone when fighting for accessibility. Her peers didn’t want to lose their shows by upsetting bookers because they were pushing for changes to be made, such as more accessible venues for attendees.
“I’m the only woman in a wheelchair that does comedy in the bay, there’s not a lot of me,” Theriault said.
While accessibility is a major issue that disabled artists constantly encounter, it’s rarely because of malintent and mostly because of bureaucratic and financial barriers, Theriault said.
Kalyn Heffernan, a rapper and songwriter, said they have faced a lot of issues with accessibility especially when touring with their band Wheelchair Sports Camp.
After college, Heffernan was offered an internship in Manhattan with a recording studio, but the studio rescinded the offer after Heffernan said they were in a wheelchair because the internship included heavy lifting and cleaning, Heffernan said.
“I was going to pack up my whole life and try New York,” Heffernan said. “That was the first documented official form of discrimination that I encountered around my art.”
When touring with their band, Heffernan dealt with inaccessible venues and had to decide whether or not to boycott the performance because of it.
Theriault had a similar experience when working at the Terror Vault haunted house in Los Angeles for a few years. Her area of the venue was accessible, but the rest of the house wasn’t.
Out of good conscience, she did not return to work on the show the next year, Theriault said.
“You pick your battles and those battles can and will change throughout time,” Heffernan said. “There’s a time in many of our careers that playing an inaccessible thing didn’t matter as much. You start to meet people and create these relationships and your relationship [with] yourself changes. What you’re comfortable accepting as a human hopefully continues to change and evolve.”
Featured Image: Theriault, Kalyn, Thummalapalli and another panelist, Colin Werth, answered questions sent in by attendees during a Zoom meeting on Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. Photo by Jessica Harden.