Unlabeled’s ‘Jellyfish’ puts love, disability and autonomy center stage
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Unlabeled Theatre Company usually fills the basement of St. Peter’s Church in Edina with musical rehearsals. This time, the company is preparing for a drama.
The tiny Twin Cities-based theater company is rehearsing for what will be the U.S. premiere of the British drama “Jellyfish.” The show follows Kelly, a young woman with Down syndrome who falls in love with her first boyfriend, a man who doesn't have an intellectual disability.
“It’s really an exploration of the intersection of consent and guardianship and autonomy when it comes to people living with cognitive disabilities,” said Unlabeled Artistic Director Jessica Froehlich.
Unlabeled primarily casts actors with physical and intellectual disabilities. Froehlich said British playwright Ben Weatherill said the lead character of Kelly must be played by an actress with Down syndrome, a condition he set for licensing the play.
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Maeve Linkert will be the first actress to portray the role in a U.S. production.
Unlabeled has always wanted to take on shows about people with disabilities, but this show will be its first foray into the field. Froehlich said the company has spent years developing ways to support actors living with disabilities, onstage.
“We're constantly working on how do we make accommodations and supports look artistic and professional. So, it's taken us years to figure this out,” she explained.
For years, the company has primarily done musicals where actors with disabilities perform with what’s called a shadow partner, an actor without disabilities who’s also performing choreography and lines.
“And they create the role together. It's a collaboration,” said Shanan Custer.
Custer has been a shadow partner with Unlabeled for years, including being paired with Linkert’s in the company’s production of “The Addams Family.”
“This is so fascinating and so different from any kind of theater I've ever seen. And what I've seen it do is it allows everyone to find their voice and shine,” she added.
Custer will now take on the role of Agnes, Kelly’s mother.
Linkert said she thinks her character will get the audience talking.
“And the people say, ‘what is Kelly doing?’” Linkert said.
“Yeah and how is she doing it? Right? And I think that this play really sits right in that discomfort and doesn't let it up at all for the audience, and we really have to think about it. Kelly's a person.” Custer added.
Froehlich said this show will ask more of the audience than the musicals the company is known for.
“We want audiences to come to our shows because they're good, and because you're going to see good theater. And to open your eyes to see that artists with disabilities can make good theater too, if not better," she said.
“Jellyfish” opens Friday, Oct. 30, at the Gremlin Theater in St. Paul.
