A Special Place For Special Players

When the East End Special Players acting troupe files into their Bridgehampton rehearsal space every Saturday, artistic director Jacqui Leader gives them one instruction: “Leave your problems outside the door.”

But sometimes, it’s their troubles that fuel the group’s original productions. Half of the East End Special Players’ 24-actor troupe suffers from Down syndrome, and the other half are treated for a range of conditions, from learning disabilities to schizophrenia to depression, among others, Ms. Leader said.

“What I try to do is not make it, ‘You’re disabled,’” she explained during a telephone interview last week. “There’s so much ability in all of them. Even if the scene is about being bullied, there’s a real comical twist so they’re not feeling sorry for themselves. This is life. Go onward and onward. You keep going and stay positive.”

The acting group will tease to its newest full-scale production, “The Life of a Doll,”—which will stage locally this fall—at its gala benefit on Saturday, June 16, at the studio and gardens of Hans Van de Bovencamp in Sagaponack.

And before the preview, the actors will perform three original, non-auto

biographical, interconnecting scenes inspired by the reverse glass paintings by East Hampton artist Gabriele Raacke, which will serve as the performance’s backdrop.

“Theater always attracted me, and this production is very colorful, lyrical and fun,” Ms. Raacke wrote in an email last week. “Over 10 years ago, I saw for the first time a production of ‘Cyrano’ and I decided then and there to work with this talented group.”

Moved by the magical, whimsical spirit of the paintings, Ms. Leader decided the troupe would bring them to life at the gala. Each actor will play a character from the paintings and, in essence, step outside of the drawings into an original story line.

“Her paintings are so perfect for doing something like this because you can make up anything,” Ms. Leader said. “The actors were really interested in doing it. I thought it might be, not above them, but that they wouldn’t grasp the idea. They’re all learning disabled.

“Sometimes you don’t know if they can think outside the box, but they really got it,” she continued. “They made up everything that is happening.”

The process was relatively simple. Keeping the gala’s theme—which is fun, light-hearted while slightly bizarre and avant-garde—in mind, the actors talked about the paintings and improvised scenes. Ms. Leader and her creative team wrote down all of their ideas and wove together a script.

It begins with “Fish Juggler,” a painting that includes a dog, a fish juggler, a girl dancer and a swan. Ms. Leader first directed the actors by saying, “Okay, Dog, you’re going to say, ‘Bow wow. I want some fish,’” she said.

And from there, everyone began talking, Ms. Leader said. The swan honked, the juggler juggled and the dancer yelled, “Can’t you see I’m trying to dance? I’m going to dance for my mother today,” she said.

At first, the improvisation element can intimidate some of the actors, who currently range in age from 18 to 55. But after time, their shyness fades away as they realize theater is a way to express themselves, as well as socialize, Ms. Leader said.

“A lot of it is emotional,” she said. “They have a hard time functioning or putting it all together, which is not unlike some people who have normal jobs and have normal lives.”

The normalcy of it all has even surprised audiences, she said, though learning disabled actors—such as Lauren Potter, who has Down syndrome and plays Becky on “Glee”—are seeing more of the spotlight these days.

“Everybody has a voice and people with learning disabilities should be seen and heard,” Ms. Leader said. “We’ve performed during assemblies at schools. At Ross School, we had students coming up to them and saying, ‘God, we had no idea how powerful this would be and that you were so capable of expressing yourselves.’ Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you can’t have a wonderful, exciting life. It really is an eye-opener.”

Admittedly, Ms. Leader had a similar revelation the first time she watched the East End Special Players practice. That was 16 years ago, and she’s been hopelessly attached ever since, she said.

“I’ve found my purpose of being on this planet and part of the universe,” she said. “‘It’s what you were meant to do.’ It’s a wonderful feeling, that when you’re ready to go, it’s ‘I really found my purpose.’ It’s a natural calling and I’m just happy that I have found them and they found me. And we’re kind of one big happy family.”

She laughed to herself. “I really look forward to every Saturday, being there.”

The East End Special Players will host a gala benefit with hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, a garden tour and silent and Dutch auctions on Saturday, June 16, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the studio and gardens of Hans Van de Bovencamp in East Hampton. A Q&A session will follow the Players’ performance, which will begin at approximately 4:40 p.m. Tickets are $50. For more information, call 678-7560 or visit eastendspecialplayers.com.