From Backstage.com:

Actors like Ann Marie Morelli, who played Hermia in Midsummer Night’s Dream in Manhattan to positive reviews last year, are trying to get audiences to rethink their ideas about disability. Morelli uses a wheelchair.

Indeed, people with disabilities are rarely seen on stage, on television, or in films despite being a sizable minority in the United States.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 18 percent of Americans — over 51 million people — have some level of disability. Yet, according to a 2005 Screen Actors Guild report, less than 2 percent of TV characters display a disability, and only 0.5 percent have speaking roles.

… Robert David Hall, who plays Dr. Al Robbins on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, said the absence of performers with disabilities from the report reflects Hollywood’s reluctance to even consider writing roles for and casting these performers.

“You’ll see the occasional role about the pathetic disabled person or the incredibly inspirational person. But by and large, with very few exceptions — I’m lucky to be one of them — I think there is a discomfort with casting people with disabilities as moms, dads, cops, teachers, social workers — as human beings who do their jobs,” Hall said.

Hall, who lost his legs as a result of an injury 30 years ago, likens the disability civil-rights movement to the African-American civil-rights movement, which changed Americans’ perspectives of minorities in real life and in entertainment.

“There was a time when there weren’t very many African Americans on television, Latino Americans, or Asian Americans. There definitely weren’t any people with disabilities,” said Hall. “I believe with all my heart that you really have to explore every segment of society to find quality people who are going to contribute.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 17th, 2008 at 2:42 pm and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, arts/music, disabilities, discrimination, entertainment, media, multiple sclerosis, public attitudes, wheelchair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post