#73 'The World Looks Different Sitting Down,'A Discussion With Teal Sherer And Jessica Wallenfels

I’m delighted to welcome on the podcast Teal Sherer and Jessica Wallenfels. Teal is an actor, writer, mom, and disability advocate who has teamed up with Jessica, a fabulous director and choreographer, for the upcoming production The World Looks Different Sitting Down, which runs at Seattle Public Theater for two weekends only from February 20 to March 1.

Combining comedy and confrontation, Teal shares her experiences as a wheelchair user in a world where strangers at Whole Foods either don’t notice you exist or ask oddly intimate questions about your sex life.

Teal has performed multiple roles on stage and screen. One of her first major roles was in 2004’s Warm Springs with Kenneth Branagh and Cynthia Nixon. She played Venom in the web series The Guild and herself in her own hilarious series My Gimpy Life. 

You will hear:

• Teal talks about her life changing post-car crash, which left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair in a world that was not designed for her
• The importance of accessibility and representation in the arts - disabled people deserve to play any kind of role, not just a disabled character - and being able to be included in everything the rest of the cast can do, like using the same dressing rooms
• Teal and Jessica’s partnership
• And more!

Links:

Seattle Public Theater: https://www.seattlepublictheater.org/sittingdown

Teal’s Website: https://www.tealsherer.com/

Jessica’s Website: https://www.jessicawallenfels.com/

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