This week's featured actor brings a boundless enthusiasm and positive spirit to every rehearsal! During his first semester with us, he was very quiet. He truly lit up the first time he was infront of an audience, and we've been watching him develop ever since! He loves dancing and making music, and is a very caring friend and energetic performer - sometimes so much so it seems he will leap right off the stage...
Meet BEN!
Hello, I am Benjamin. I am 19 years old, and Twelfth Night will be my 6th stage production with ABLE. You might have seen me in some of my other favorite roles: The White Rabbit in Adventures in Wonderland, Alabama the Musical Superhero in What You Will, and detective Philoneus Chance in The Curse of the Tempest Jewel. Three things I enjoy about coming to ABLE are being with my friends, dancing, and performing onstage. And of course, I love when our dance party song is Katy Perry “Firework”!
Three words to describe me are: funny, athletic, and musical. I can dance really well, and someday I want to be in a ballet.
“ABLE has made such a difference to Ben’s life by increasing his verbal expression and his desire to communicate. He has actually made friends and there is incredible camaraderie between all of the program parents, actors and staff. He has become more confident in himself and it gives him such joy to perform onstage. I am so grateful for the teaching staff who have been able to enable and encourage Ben and create breakthroughs to a new life of joy, communication, and opportunities for expression.” ”
In 2013, our ensemble wrote their own scenes for a unique show - Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On. Each scene answered the question "what would you do if you had magic for one day?" Ben would dance with a beautiful princess. See his duet with Kendra in this clip.
Here are Marissa and Ben as the lovestruck Miranda and Ferdinand in 2014's The Tempest! You can see how giddy he gets infront of a crowd!
