In the fall of 2020, A.B.L.E.’s ensembles created a series of 8 interactive video stories for a project called ABLE Anthology.
The characters and plots of each story are as unique as our actors, but each story carries a special lesson about how we relate to our world. We’re exploring themes of friendship. community, communication, and, yes, curing the pandemic is a recurring theme in a few.
As they narrate each tale, actors invite you to play with different objects from your home, and to act out different sights, sounds, and characters to bring each story to life.
A.B.L.E.’s teaching artists and facilitators have curated a collection of crafts to help you dive deeper into the world of each story in the Anthology. You can make a rainstick from items in your kitchen, design a spider finger puppet, and more!
Don’t just watch the story…become a part of it!
Chloe the Watercolor Space Cat
Chloe the cat must fly to space and use her superpowers to save her astronaut brother, who is stranded on a planet made entirely of water.
Chloe’s story reminds us to enjoy our time with our loved ones.
To interact with this story, you will need:
- Something soft and fleecy like sheep’s wool
- Something that sounds like crunchy leaves (maybe real leaves, a paper bag, candy wrappers, or crunchy cereal)
- Cat ears
- A glass of ice water
- Lemonade packet
Mavis and the Missing Musical Mayor
Mavis the teenage vampire faces her fear of the light and uses her talents to find the mayor.
Mavis’ story reminds us that no problem is too big if you have friends to help you along the way.
To interact with this story, you will need:
- Ice
- A lavender sachet or something that smells like flowers
- Flashlight
- A T-shirt
- A Hat
- Shekere craft
- Something that squeaks like a creaky door
The Ballad of a Community Hero
At a time of great sickness, a humble drummer discovers he has an important role to play in helping his community to heal.
This story reminds us that we are all connected to each other.
To interact with this story, you will need:
- Rainstick craft
- Your listening and mirroring skills
- To learn this poem:
I have the power
To find it in me
For there is an “I”
In community
The Chronicles of Sally Marcelline Frankenstein
Sally Marcelline Frankenstein has spent years living alone in a cave behind the Krypton Library. She might be the only one who can cook up a cure for a pandemic if she can be brave enough to step outside.
Sally’s story encourages us to use our gifts and make a difference for others.
To interact with this story, you will need:
- A Wooden Spoon or Spatula
- A Newspaper
- A piece of fur or something soft
- Spider finger puppet craft
- A flashlight
- Something that sounds like the wind (maybe rustling a bag or making the sound with your mouth).
The Story of Charlie Devil-Jansen
Charlie is a half-monster, half-human who often feels like he’s stuck in the middle of two worlds. After a huge fight with his parents, he turns to his book collection to find answers.
Charlie’s story is about taking responsibility and learning to be a grown up.
To interact with this story, you will need:
- A Fireball candy
- A Wintergreen lifesaver
- An earl grey teabag
- A claw
- A noisemaker
- A mini book
2021: A Space Odyssey
Since all of her friends moved away, Elizabeth Rose feels like the only girl left on Pluto. She begins an interstellar journey to visit her friends, but meets trouble along the way in the form of an evil robot.
Elizabeth Rose’s story reminds us that we are stronger together.
To interact with this story, you will need:
- Space Goggles craft (or your own pair of goggles)
- Pine-scented air freshener
- A ball
- A bag of popcorn
- A remote control or game controller
- Bubble wrap
The Forgotten Memories of Aldis Radinhaher
Aldis is an immortal interpreter who spent their life helping others understand each other. But now Aldis’ brain is running out of room for all their memories. Can Aldis make it back home?
Aldis’ story is about cherishing our memories and all the ways we communicate.
To interact with this story, you will need:
- Marbles
- ASL vocabulary
- Paintbrush
- Noisemaker
- Hobby Horse craft
The Famous Artist Kingdom of Mal Bublé
Mal’s best friend Evee is missing! Bad guys have been locking up people and creatures, including half-dragons like Evee, in Farquardia Castle for being different. Can Mal help them break free?
Mal’s story reminds us to celebrate being ourselves!
To interact with this story, you will need:
- Paintbrush
- Black tulle
- Fire-Breathing Dragon craft
- Hobby Horse craft
The Making of A.B.L.E. Anthology
For the fall 2020 semester, A.B.L.E. hosted 4 ensembles for individuals ages 15 and up with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities. Over the course of 10 rehearsals, each ensemble collaborated with a team of teaching artists and volunteer facilitators to develop 2 original stories for A.B.L.E. Anthology.
A.B.L.E. Boxes
To help our ensembles feel connected and engaged while working virtually, we made 63 boxes – one for each actor, facilitator, and teaching artist in our 4 ensembles.
These boxes had social stories and visual aids to explain rehearsals. There were also props, crafts, recipes, and activities to help us interact with the myths we learned from our guest artists.
In the week before our first rehearsals, teaching artists Arin, Emma, Katie, Lawrence, and Sean made personal socially-distanced deliveries to ensemble members who live in and around Chicago.
Check out the video to get a peek inside the boxes and see highlights from our drop-offs.
Guest Artists
One of the silver linings of working virtually was that we were not limited by geography. In addition to having ensemble members and volunteers from 5 different states, we also welcomed 4 guest artists from around the world to join our virtual rehearsals.
These 4 talented storytellers shared myths from West Africa, Greece, Southeast Asia, and South America. Through these myths, we saw how people around the world have used stories to explain the world around them, teach lessons, and solve big problems.
During the first half of the semester, each ensemble learned two different myths, which inspired them to devise their own original stories.
Thank you to Varshini Pichemuthu and Claudia Rebolledo Sanchez from Rootprints Theatre, John Nyrere Frazier, and Myrto Papoulia for joining us from afar. Check out the video to meet our guest artists and see some of the fun we had in these story sessions.
Devising
After exploring examples of myths and basic story structure, ensembles turned their attention to making their own stories. Each ensemble developed 2 original tales.
The first week of devising centered around Theme and Characters. Actors voted for their favorite themes, and then split into groups to create characters using a series of questions to think about the characters personality traits, relationships, and what problem they are trying to overcome.
The next week, actors switched groups to devise the Setting for a story. They thought about different places where this character might feel safe or unsafe, and the various sights and sounds in these locales and created tableaux and soundscapes for their settings.
Finally, actors developed the Plot of their story and the beginning, middle, and end of the tale using improvisation games and a madlib-style version of their script.
Between rehearsals, members of all ensembles signed in for weekly Zoom dance parties every Wednesday night throughout the semester to let loose and socialize.
Filming the Stories
A.B.L.E.’s teaching artists took all of the raw material that actors created during the devising process and shaped this into 8 scripts, with each actor taking on the role of storyteller for their favorite story.
During the final 3 weeks of rehearsal, each actor filmed their narration. Using the breakout room feature on Zoom, a teaching artist and facilitator was able to coach an actor through their 15 minute filming session, while the rest of the group played games and rehearsed their group sequences in another virtual room.
Actors enjoyed rough cuts of their projects while filming the group sequences. Before the final week of rehearsal, each actor received a second A.B.L.E. package with activity packets and sensory objects related to their own story so they could play along.
