HUNTINGTON PARK : Show by Disabled Helps Break Barriers

In a way, Maria French was living her teen-age dream. She was finally on the campus of Huntington Park High School, wheelchair and all.

As a teen-ager in the 1960s, French longed to attend the school with her friends. Brain-damaged at birth, she was unable to attend a mainstream campus because of her physical and speech problems.

But French recently appeared onstage at the campus as one of the performers in “Breaking Through the Wall,” a collection of sketches, music and poetry dealing with disabilities.

The objective of the show, written and performed primarily by people with disabilities, was to break down stereotypes and revise attitudes toward the disabled, said French, who also produced the show.

“Don’t pity us and don’t put down our lives,” she said. “We really like (life) and we’re not ready to give up or commit suicide. But that’s what so many people expect.”

Another goal was to provide positive role models for the students.

“They are really amazed to see me up on stage,” French said. “It gives them something else to aim for, instead of sitting there and being a nonentity.”

During a morning performance at Huntington Park High, French introduced sketches while seated in her wheelchair. But to the 500 students in the audience, she was standing tall.

“She has a lot of courage,” said sophomore Laura Vasquez, 15, who has been in a wheelchair all her life. “It influences other people not to be afraid.”

Students howled as a deaf actor performed a comic rap piece, “Deaf Master Jam,” that poked fun at those without disabilities.

Some recognized themselves in the insensitive attendant who cannot accept the independence of her wheelchair-bound charge.

And they squirmed listening to French’s poetry:

I can be good.

I can be bad.

The wheelchair is not me.

What sets the show apart is that it is “not about the disabled, it’s by the disabled,” French said. “People aren’t talking about us. We’re doing it ourselves and showcasing our talent. That’s important because people think we’re dependent on other people. Yes, we need some help but, given the opportunity, we can do a lot.”

Parts of the program were excerpted from a show developed by the Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum. French received a $10,000 grant from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department to hire seven other actors and stage the show at four district high schools.

Ideally, French would like to create a video of the show so its message can reach a wide audience without the expenses and difficulties involved with a live production.