In the fall of 2023, A.B.L.E.’s ensembles collaborated for an imaginative and heartfelt journey.
The show featured work of 40 members of the A.B.L.E. community including 23 performers with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Over a 10-week rehearsal process, A.B.L.E.’s ensembles collaborated to develop original monologues, scenes, movement pieces and songs inspired by their own lives. The plot follows a group of strangers on a train ride through vast and varied lands. As the train faces delays and weathers storms, the passengers share stories from their own journeys about where they came from, and where they want to go.
Two ensembles joined together for this original performance on December 2, 2023 at The Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago.
The Sunday Ensemble
Actors: Colleen Altman, Colin Baar, Marissa Bloodgood, Jack Butler, Gabe Felshman, Peter Grzeslo, Emily Kwidzinski, Matthew La Chapelle, Maggie Leal, Jake Solworth, and Eric Williams
Supported By: Kaylie Honkala, Perry Hunt, Amy Bahr, Lewis Beaver, Megan Gray, Marilyn Halperin, Kate McDuffie and Emily Seaholm
The Monday Ensemble
Actors: Christian Boyd, Sandia Coleman, Benjamin Collins, Alena Counter Brown, Sophie Earvolino, Ryan Foley, Natalia Janik, Anna Luzadder, Maggie Marren, Matthew Marren, Lucas Miezal, Lucy Walsh
Supported By: Kiaran Hartnett, Lawrence Kern, Mary Kate Ashe, Chloe Belongilot, Shannon Diegel, Paige Henderson, Jo Jennings, Erin Nishida, and Lindsay Stock
Music Direction by Bill Larkin
A.B.L.E.’s 2023-2024 Season of Journeys was partially supported by grants from The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, FunFund, The Illinois Arts Council, Innovation 80, The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, and The National Endowment for the Arts, and individual donors like you!
