AURORA | Chris Silberman thought he was fielding a campaign call when he saw the name flash on the phone about a month ago.
Silberman, the executive director of the Aurora-based PHAMALY Theatre Company, assumed the call from Sen. Michael Bennet’s office in Washington, D.C. was an automated request for contributions. He certainly wasn’t expecting staffers from Bennet’s office to deliver news that the troupe had just secured $10,000 in federal grants.
“We thought it was just going to be a political call,” Silberman said, seated at a table at PHAMALY’s administrative offices on Dallas Street in north Aurora. “It was the great news of the day. Then we had to keep it secret for about three weeks.”
That waiting period was necessary to give officials from the National Endowment for the Arts enough time to finalize the official announcement: PHAMALY would be one of 817 nonprofits across the country to receive more than $26 million in annual “Art Work” grants. The money, which goes directly to community arts organizations, would go to the troupe’s upcoming production of “Fiddler on the Roof” slated to run this summer at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
“They really looked to how we engage the community. That’s both people onstage and in the audience,” Silberman said. “They really liked the diversity aspect of PHAMALY and how we incorporate people of all disabilities in our productions. Then there’s the inspiration that the audience takes away from that.”
It’s not the first time PHAMALY earned honors for its accomplishments and its mission. For more than 20 years, the troupe has held the title as the nation’s only theater company composed entirely of performers with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. Since 1989, the troupe has staged a wide array of comedies, dramas and musicals that’s ranged from “Beauty and the Beast” to “The Wiz.” In PHAMALY productions, there’s nothing odd about Belle walking with a cane or the Tin Man being in a wheelchair.
“It’s that advocacy part of what we do,” said PHAMALY’s Artistic Director Steve Wilson. Wilson is slated to direct the summer production of “Fiddler.” “I don’t know if there is any better experience than talking to kids who are disabled who have come and seen our shows … If they’re going to go to the Buell Theatre (in Denver) and see a big, huge play, they’re usually not going to see folks with multiple disabilities.
“That part of what we do is creating role models,” he added.
But that’s nothing new. It’s been a part of the troupe’s core mission since a group of former students from the Boettcher School in Denver mounted their first production of “Guys and Dolls” in 1990. It was at the heart of the company as PHAMALY became a regularly featured troupe at the Aurora Fox theater and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Even so, the NEA grant comes during a period of unprecedented change for the company. Two years ago, PHAMALY moved its administrative offices into the Aurora Cultural Arts District. Since then, the company has taken an increasingly active role in spreading their message.
Bryce Alexander, an Aurora native and Cherokee Trail High School graduate, has had a lot to do with that push. Alexander’s official duties include production manager and associate artistic director, but he’s also worked as the company’s new outreach coordinator.
“I can be in the office with everyone to make sure that we are implementing the appropriate changes artistically as well as on the administrative side,” Alexander said. “It’s to maintain quality and to grow our performers.”
Those efforts have paid off, judging by the successful bid for the $10,000 in NEA grant money. It’s not the first time a Colorado theater company has won grants through the “Art Work” program. But it is an important watershed for PHAMALY, and the money will have a direct impact on the summer production of “Fiddler.” For example, the company will hire California-based violinist Sofia Hummell to perform in the show. Hummell, an amputee, uses a specially designed prosthetic arm to control the violin bow as she plays.
More importantly, the NEA funding will give PHAMALY the opportunity to make sure its cast, which includes Aurora resident Mark Dissette in the lead role of Tevye, is compensated.
“Programmatically, we’ve been growing a little faster than our infrastructure and funding has,” Silberman said. “We’ve been confined in what we’re able to pay the actors. This gives us more breathing room. We do not want them to incur costs by participating in a show.”
Like every other PHAMALY show, this production of “Fiddler on the Roof” is meant to offer audiences a new insight. Based on stories by Sholem Aleichem, the 1964 musical by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein focuses on a Jewish community in 1905 Russia. The show details the community’s traditions and cultures, even as it explores the travails of its lead character Tevye. It’s a story focused on a community that’s been marginalized, a theme that fits in well with PHAMALY’s creative mission.
“The whole play ends up being unbelievably life affirming,” Wilson said. “In our production, you have this disability element, which I hope will add another dimension. It will highlight the bond and strength of the disabled community and their continued struggles within the larger community.”
That message of solidarity and acceptance draws more support every year, and PHAMALY staff see the NEA grant as pretty overwhelming evidence. They’re already putting together their application for next year, which is due in August.
“This grant puts us on the map with national arts funding,” Wilson said. “Every year it’s competitive, but I do think the first one is the hardest.”
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at 720-449-9707 or agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com