Above: The cast works on singing one of Jeff Moyer's songs in Zoom. The actors must take turns and cannot come in on top of each other.
The Center for Applied Drama and Autism (CADA) is pleased to announce the long-awaited Along the Graveyard Path (A History of Disability)!
The production will premiere on CADA’s YouTube channel beginning November 1, 2021. Act One consists of eight weekly episodes that will be released every Monday through the end of December. Act Two begins January 3 with the same weekly release schedule through the end of March 2022.
The company has spent the past year adapting the script into an audio docudrama on the history of disability. From prehistoric times to the present, Theatre on the Spectrum presents a timeline of shifting attitudes from rejection to empathy to inclusion.
This production was inspired by “The Poor Lost Souls of Akron,” an Akron Bean Journal history article by Mark Pride on the pauper’s graveyard lying beneath Schneider Park. Once the site of Akron’s Poor House, Schneider Park is the final resting place for many of its disabled citizens. The opening episode features Price’s article presented as a newsreel. It was filmed in collaboration with Josh Gippen for “The Forgotten Dead,” his documentary on Schneider Park. Theatre on the Spectrum actors were filmed re-enacting scenes from the history of the Poor House. Carolyn Behrman and Timothy Matney of the University of Akron’s Department of Anthropology provided assistance in sharing historical records and information about Schneider Park.
Along the Graveyard Path is a 2019 Knight Foundation Akron Arts Challenge award winner. This production was scheduled to be performed live on stage in the summer of 2020 with a cast of 18 actors and musicians. When the pandemic hit, CADA closed their studio in March of 2020 and moved entirely online. The company began the transition from stage play to audio drama. The scenes were recorded in Zoom during the height of the lockdown. There was much to learn about acting in Zoom. CADA provided a variety of supports and technology for our actors with autism and disabilities, while developing a digital media presence.
Featuring the music of disability rights activist and bard, Jeff Moyer, Along the Graveyard Path was directed by Wendy Duke, with Laura Valendza as assistant director. Cast members include Amanda Bugenske, Brian Cogar, Erica Crank, Jordan Euell, Sean Giannetti, Jake Dietz, Samir Hammoud, Scott Hudson, Sid Kranz, Dre’ia McCoy, Brandon Meeker, Joseph Moran, Ruben Ryan, Nicholas Santiago, Daniel Seemann, Cyrus Shariari, Laura Stitt, JT “Styles” Toomer, and Jude Yovichin.