Join us a 7 p.m. Seattle time for tonight's show! Here is the Zoom link for this evening. https://disabilityrightswa.zoom.us/j/98734945616?pwd=Z21BQVRtT0Ivck16ajQ4b09DSGpzQT09
Here is the streamtext link to access captions for the show. https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=Breaking_Barriers_2023
Disability Rights
Washington, one of the state’s pioneering disability rights advocacy
organizations, is hosting Breaking Barriers: A Celebration of Disability
Community on Thursday June 1st from 6:00-8:30pm PST. The event is being held at the spectacular 415
Westlake venue in Seattle, centering the voices and talents of disabled
artists!
We invite you to join us
for an energizing evening of community building and live performances spotlighting stand-up comedy with D-List comedian Michael Bellevue, legendary hip-hop with King Khazm, a sneak preview of the upcoming production of Cost of Living by Sound Theatre Company, award-winning poetry by Jeannine Gailey, and uplifting musical performances by Nick Baker.
Dynamic duo Mickey Rowe and Helen Marion-Rowe once again will bring their high-octane energy to emcee the soiree, which features disabled artists, musicians and actors, special guest speaker State Representative Darya Farivar, an exclusive raffle, hearty hors d'oeuvres, local wine and beer and rock star DRW advocates. After three years of being apart, we’re excited to celebrate, laugh, uplift and be in community with you!
The venue is barrier-free with wheelchair accessible restrooms. ASL and CART services will be provided. A free livestream option is also available for those who cannot attend in person.
Festive
attire welcome!
Emcees:
Mickey Rowe (he/him) has had a prolific
and varied career as an actor, director, consultant, and public speaker; now
highly sought after both nationally and internationally. He was the first
autistic actor to play Christopher Boone, the lead role in the Tony
Award-winning play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He has
also appeared as the title role in the Tony Award-winning play Amadeus and
more. Mickey has been featured in the New York Times, New York Times Magazine,
The TODAY Show, PBS, Vogue, Playbill, NPR, CNN, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost,
Forbes, and has keynoted at organizations including the Lincoln Center for the
Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center, Yale University, Columbia University,
Disability Rights Washington, The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway, New York Public
Library, the DAC of the South Korean government, and more. Mickey is endorsed
as a recommended speaker by the National Organization for Youth Safety. Mickey
is a disability and accessibility expert has led DEIA trainings and workshops
for companies including Nordstrom, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,
Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and more. Mickey was the founding
Artistic Director of National Disability Theatre, which works in partnership
with Tony Award-winning companies such as La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego and
the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. He is the Author of the award winning,
bestselling book Fearlessly Different.
Helen Marion-Rowe (she/her) began her professional career as an actor, model, and TV host. As an immigrant woman of color she experienced first hand many of the persistent injustices and inequities in those industries. This discontent teamed with her drive to enact change led her to becoming a highly sought after Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility consultant. She has spoken on these topics for T-Mobile, Nordstrom and more. She has extensive experience working in schools as a teaching artist, and has key insights into how to reach and support students typically underserved by the typical classroom environment.
Performers:
Michael Bellevue is a stand-up comedian and comedy producer
originally from Bellevue, Washington. He has produced comedy shows across the
Pacific Northwest and his own stand-up comedy has been showcased in Portland,
Vancouver and Seattle, including the Disabled List Comedy Festival 2023.
Michael started playing chess competitively at age 5 and retired at age six. He
is also an avid sailor, linguistics aficionado and dedicated volunteer who’s
produced several fundraisers for nonprofits and volunteered at a food bank for
over a year during the pandemic. Michael has a B.S. in Biology from the
University of Washington.
King Khazm is an emcee, producer and community
organizer who has become a prominent figure in the Hip-Hop community within
Seattle and around the world. His work to engage and empower communities is
demonstrated through over 25 years of music, art and community service. King
Khazm has performed all around the country and world including the World’s Fair
& Expo 2020 (Dubai), Hempfest (Seattle), Galpao Aplauso (Brazil), Festival
de la Juventud (Guatemala), and Strictly Street (Malaysia), Folklife Festival
(Seattle), sharing stages with the likes of Naughty By Nature, Gza, Kurtis
Blow, Zion I, Aceyalone and others. As a producer, he has collaborated with
artists such as Abstract Rude, Afu-Ra, Def-I, Eli Almic, Gabriel Teodros, OneBeLo, Sadat X, Sean
Price and Xololanxinxo.
Sound Theatre Company will be performing a sneak preview of a scene from their much anticipated upcoming production of 2018 Pulitzer-winning play, Cost of Living by Martyna Majok and Directed by Teresa Thuman. Cost of Living weaves parallel lives in the world of disabled individuals (Ani and John) and their caregivers (Eddie and Jess). Themes of connection (or lack thereof), class divisions, safety nets, financial haves and have-nots, and interdependence emerge in playwright Martyna Majok’s deft bridging of the worlds of those with disabilities and those without. Sound Theatre Company’s “new era, new canon” 2023 season draws from an unprecedented deck of new work and the essential processes of supporting a living, breathing, and evolving play. Our mission is to empower artists to amplify the dignity and diversity of the human experience — moving audiences toward a more just and compassionate world.
Jeannine Hall Gailey is a poet with multiple sclerosis who served as the 2nd Poet Laureate of Redmond, Washington. She's the author of six books of poetry: Becoming the Villainess, She Returns to the Floating World, Unexplained Fevers, The Robot Scientist’s Daughter, Field Guide to the End of the World, winner of the Moon City Press Book Prize and the Elgin Award, and the upcoming in 2023, Flare, Corona from BOA Editions. She has a B.S. in Biology and M.A. in English from the University of Cincinnati and an MFA from Pacific University. Her work appeared in The American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, and Poetry.
Perfect pitch man, Nick Baker reached for the keys of the piano as an infant. Lack of vision and challenges with autism did not prevent Nick’s success as a performer. Baker has earned honors in both classical voice and classic piano juries and an AA degree in musical performance and technology, at Shoreline Community College. In June 2001 he released his first CD, Think Positive. His latest release, This One’s for You,(2009) is a collection of jazz standards. Nick is also and author. His first book TURTLE describes his experiences as an autistic and blind student in grade school. His 2nd book BAD BEHAVOIR BLUES tells more of the story behind his first original song. Among other local festivals, Baker has performed at Edmonds Arts Festival, Edmonds Waterfront Center and he has also performed with United By Music North America in Gig Harbor at Make Music Day.
Special Guest:
State Representative Darya Farivar was born and raised in the
46th Legislative District in the Lake City neighborhood. Rep. Farivar is
deeply committed to lifting all voices and co-governance. Before coming to the
legislature, she worked in disability rights advocacy focused on the intersection
of behavioral health, housing and the criminal legal system. Prior to that, she
worked to support immigrants and refugees with developmental disabilities. Her
advocacy work has always aimed to center the voices and lived experiences of
people who are directly impacted. Farivar is very proud of her ethnic
heritage and is excited to lead as the first Middle Eastern woman and first
Iranian American woman elected to the Washington State Legislature. She
graduated from the University of Redlands with a B.A. in Communicative
Disorders and a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Buy your tickets today!
