[00:00:05] Speaker A: Welcome to disability empowerment. Now I'm your host, Keith Maffeinsini. Today I'm talking to actor dead male Edward, who played Remy in the broad we musical, how to dance in Ohio. Desmond, welcome to the show.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: Hi, how are you?
[00:00:43] Speaker A: Uh, doing great, actually.
As you know, I seen the show six times, including the Broadway reunion concert, which we'll talk about later.
[00:01:03] Speaker B: But oh, my gosh, that's so cool.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: Yeah. But first, let's go back to the very beginning. How did you find out about the musical and what was the process like auditioning?
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. So I was actually 17 years old when I first got the audition stuff. I first casted.
I was living in Orlando, Florida at the time, and I was doing a summer camp at the doctor Phillips center for the Performing Arts as part of their education program.
And the summer camp was called take it from the top. And Jacob happened to be there as one of the faculty for the camp. Jacob is our composer of how to dance. Mayo. And we knew that he was working on a musical, but we didn't know what it was at all.
You know, he just was like, you know, kind of going off, like, you know, meetings or whatever.
And, you know, I had confided in him that I was autistic because, you know, he was teaching us the music and such. And I was, like, really interested. I was really. I was so annoying. I was sitting at the front of the class, you know, raising my hand at everything, and, you know, I was like, hey, I'm sorry, I'm autistic. And he's like, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Like, you shouldn't be apologizing for that. And it was the very last day, it was a Friday, when we did our final, like, you know, performance, like, you know, our big showcase. And Jacob came up to me and he was like, I think you'd be great for a role in the musical that I'm working on. And I was like, oh, my gosh. So then, you know, we met up for coffee in New York and, you know, he sent me the casting info and I remember sending in a self tape, a callback, and I got casted at 17 years old, and we did our 1st 29 hours reading when I was still in high school. I actually missed part of my high school's production, the spring, the fall production that year. So, yeah, that's how I got casted and stuff.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: It's very interesting to think that this story is based on a documentary because I'm trying to remember other documentaries that are turned into musicals, and for the life of me, I cannot remember another one off the top of my head.
What would you like watching the documentary and meeting the participants in the documentary.
[00:04:14] Speaker B: Yeah. So I didn't actually watch the documentary until, like, later on in the process, I'd say it was after, like, one of our workshops. So I didn't actually, like, you know, watch the documentary because I wanted all of my acting choices to feel authentic. I didn't want to, like, you know, try to copy somebody else, you know? But it was. Wow. It was incredible to meet the participants. I actually didn't meet Remy in person until the Broadway run our opening night, when everybody came on stage.
But I did get to meet real life Caroline and Jessica, as well as their mothers, Johanna, and, you know, I forget her name. Johanna and what was it? You get the point.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: You get the point. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, yeah, so it was a lot of fun. It was so much fun.
It was also, like. It was an honor, truly, to see, like, how excited they were to see that. Like, you know, we were playing them. They, like, you know, it was just so cool. So cool.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: How was it meeting the cats for the first time? And how quickly did you guys bond?
[00:05:38] Speaker B: Yeah, so we met at a 29 hours reading, and then we had. I think there was another. We knew that we were going to Syracuse, then we had another workshop prior to Syracuse, I think that was sometime in June of 2021, I believe. Or 2022, I'm not sure. And then. Yeah, it was 2022. Yeah. Because I had graduated, and we kind of knew each other. Like, we were just like, oh, we're going to have some fun. But it wasn't until Syracuse that we really, like, you know, got to bond and everything, because we were living in such close quarters with each other. Like, we were living in college dorms, like, across the hall from each other, like, neighbors. Like, we went to the. We went to the New York State fair together. Like, we did a bunch of, like, outings. You know, we had the car pool to, like, you know, go get groceries to, like, you know, living in such close quarters. Exactly, exactly.
[00:06:32] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Living in such close quarters with each other and stuff like that. Really. Like, we became friends and we became, like, besties during that.
[00:06:42] Speaker A: Wow. So it must have been easy to trans that close relationships to the stage then.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: Yeah, we actually.
It was so funny because we actually got a little bit of, like, a note. We got a little bit in trouble because basically the characters on stage are supposed to be, like, you know, not so close with each other, but we're so close with each other that like the characters were like, you know, super close and like touchy with each other, but they weren't supposed to be like, you know.
So that was a little bit of a note that we got which was, which is really funny actually.
[00:07:24] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I told you that before at the end of the show, the characters now the actors seem very close knit and so the characters seem very much like a family. Given everything you just told me, it's no wonder that the actors very much, uh.
So what would you like la way opening night, knowing that your real life counterparts were watching you from the stage?
Because Vince is literally based on a true story.
And what would that like?
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Oh my gosh, it was so nerve wracking because we're like, are they gonna like it? Like, you know?
[00:08:37] Speaker A: Right. And.
[00:08:38] Speaker B: Exactly, exactly. And like, you know, it was, it was so, it was so surreal, truly because you know, you're playing a person but like you don't actually know this person, you know what I mean? All you see is what was shown in the documentary. And in my case, you know, Remy was only pictured a few times in the documentary, in the film. So I didn't really know like who Remy was, you know, but you know, I, I just, like, I didn't get to see any of their faces. But from what I was told by Remy's mother or grandmother, just family. Was that he, during my song, my big number, nothing at all that he was crying and mouthing the words to the song even though he didn't even know it. But you know, he was, he was, yeah, it was just, it was incredible. Truly.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: Yeah, it sounds like it.
And I mean, avid Theodore. I watched the documentary actually after the Broadway one close.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I recommend that people do that. I recommend that people see the Broadway show first before they watch the documentary.
[00:10:05] Speaker A: Yeah, well, uh, it's a good thing I did that. Uh. Cause it would show eye opening and it was like there's one major plot point that Rebecca and Jacob added, but other than that, the only thing mentioned from the documentary is Jacobs score.
It's really like you took that, you took that, you took that. Ah, that's where that comes in. It's like, it's so mind blowing how faithful Rebecca and Jacob were to the overall shorts material.
Talk more about how people reacted to seeing it.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: Yeah, so the documentary is definitely from like 2015, you know, actually would recorded in 2013.
Oh my gosh. Wow. Oh my God.
[00:11:40] Speaker A: Because I'm really retentive.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: No, I get that.
No, yeah, it was reported in 2013 and it's very obvious by, like, you know, the culture surrounding disability.
[00:11:56] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah, totally.
[00:12:00] Speaker B: Yeah. But like, you know, it's. It's important to, like, stay true to the source material, but also, you know, truly think about how things have changed since then in our, you know, ten years, eleven years now since then.
And, you know, our conversations around disability and around autism and the new updated terms that we use now and, you know, thankfully, with like, the hard work of our accessibility team who just won a drama desk award yesterday.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: Yes, I saw that.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: Yeah. But yeah, through their hard work now we have our updated terms in the show now and how differently we talk about autism and disability now compared to when we did in 2013. The use of symbols, the puzzle piece symbols versus the rainbow, infinity sign, something as simple as that.
But yeah, it's something you have to stay true to the source material but also be with the times and be with the new conversations that we have surrounding disability.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: Why do you think that Broadway, that now was the moment that Broadway decided, hey, we should really catch up and do that?
Because Blood Ray has had a long history of not doing that. And it's like they had tried to do this ten years ago, like, be on it. They would have most likely cast the roads with temporarily able bodied actors who were just acting artistic. Thankfully, they didn't. But why do you think that now in the time period we are in that Broadway wised up and said, yeah, we really put the zone authentically.
[00:14:39] Speaker B: Yeah. So I'm not actually sure. I think it was Sammy Cannell's, our director's idea to cast authentically with autistic actors. But I remember she said this in a few interviews and stuff, but people told her that she wasn't going to be able to do it, that they weren't going to be able to find autistic actors to play these roles. But, you know, they sent out the casting search and got so many people, you know, that, you know, just an incredible amount. I want to see hundreds, thousands of autistic people, you know, that, you know, are capable of playing these roles, you know, and with our UK run that's happening next year, there's going to be even more across the sea, you know, so many autistic actors that are capable of playing these roles and so many disabled actors that are capable of playing roles that can play roles that should be playing roles. You know what I mean?
[00:15:37] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I do. It's.
It's very heartwarming that the show was very unapologetic about casting the magnificent seven ads, uh, with autistic actors.
And so talk about the broad sense of doing the show over and over and over and over again for the first time. Because a movie you shooted for a few months, it's up there. People can buy it, but literally, when the curtain rises, you guys have to pretend like you don't know each other, that the characters don't know each other, and you have to do it. Faith flee to the third time, eight shows a week. How would that process?
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Yeah, so, you know, it's just a lot of repetition, but also finding new things in every performance. You know, finding, like, you know, really connecting with the beats every performance and, you know, finding something fresh and new every single time you do it. You know, trying out something new, like, you know, taking some risks that are within reason, but, you know, finding something new every single performance to keep it fresh, keep it lively as the show goes on. You know what I mean? Like, you know, staying true to, like, you know, the material and staying true to what we've done in the past, but also keeping it fresh and keeping it lively and, you know, trying out new things and. Yeah, yeah, I'd say that was it.
[00:17:56] Speaker A: Hard finding new things, little tweaks to put in the show to make it more lively and not monotonous and repetitive all the time.
[00:18:19] Speaker B: Kind of, you know, it could have just been something like, you know, like a simple glance at, like, you know, a character. Like, I know that Liam and Madison, who played Meredith and Drew, you know, they would steal another glance at each other, you know, every single show, they just find another way to, like, look at each other and, you know, in, you know, my character being the one that, like.
No, but my character being the one that kind of knows what's going on. Like, you know, I'd find another moment where I, like, look between them and be like, oh, so that's happening, you know?
You know, so if, like, somebody happens to be taking a bootleg or something or a video, like, they'll find something new every single time, you know?
[00:19:08] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
What are some of the highlighted memories from the cat's door and meeting the fans and seeing how much love and enthusiasm there was, rightfully so, for this show.
[00:19:40] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. I remember when I got my first piece of fan art. Like, that was a highlight for me, my first piece of fan art, and I almost cried. Like, I was just like, oh, my gosh, you know, and I even hung it up in my dressing room and, like, you know, but, yeah, and then I guess oh, there was another time where the stage door, you know, we tried to make it as accessible as possible, but there was some wheelchair users that couldn't get through and, like, see us. And I was like, uh uh, this is not gonna work. This is not gonna work. This is not what we're doing. And I literally talked to security. I was like, these people need to get up to the front of the stage door. And we did it. And they got up to the front of the stage door and, you know, there was even, like, another, like, power chair user that couldn't get through even if, like, you know, be part of the crowds. And so, you know, we talked to each other, like, as each one of us exited the stage door, we'd be like, hey, there's a powershell user on the other side. Make sure you circle around to make sure they're able to see you, you know. So we really. It was, you know, we wanted. We definitely had a good time at the stage door, but we also wanted to make sure that we were taking our time with people, you know, and even, like, another time, there was somebody who was using an AAC device and, you know, I was in the middle of talking to them and people, like, other people were trying to, like, rush, like, you know, butt in the conversation, and I could tell the person using the AC was getting, like, you know, frantic and, like, you know, you know, uncomfortable. And I was like, honey, I'm talking to you. These other people can wait. You know what I mean? Like, these other people, they can wait, like, five minutes for me to talk to you because we are in a conversation right now.
[00:21:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:20] Speaker B: So, you know, it truly, like, the stage door was also, you know, a lesson in accessibility as well for not only us, but for audience members and security that was there, you know.
[00:21:33] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a very important, and unfortunately, not often thought about if the.
So the UK production is going live next year, if there ever is a movie. Invincible hypothetical, but it had been done before successfully transferring. Do you think you and the cats will come back?
[00:22:15] Speaker B: I'm not sure. I can't answer that. Um, I can't answer for everybody. I know that we're not going to be in the uk production, us actors, um, which is an excellent opportunity for more autistic people to be seen. Absolutely, yeah. But in terms of a movie or something, I'm not sure. I can't answer for everybody else. I think I would like to. I think it would be cool. But, you know, you never know. You never know. It depends on what I'm doing at the moment. But, you know, if there was a movie or a tv show, like, I would, you know, that would be. That would be cool, you know, good.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: From revenge prospective hypothetic. Like, you guys have just finished the movie. Rebecca and Jacob have just written the sequel, and they're in pre planning on the third. Now, how do you make the trilogy? I don't know. That's why it's called a hypothetical.
[00:23:17] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:23:19] Speaker A: And a van geeking out. I'm also going to be interviewing Rebecca and, uh, Jacob, but, yeah.
What would you like reading through the script the third time? What would that table reading? Like?
[00:23:48] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. It was so much fun. Like, I think all of us were also, like, really confused because we didn't know the music yet. So we're just going off, like, the lyrics. Like, we didn't actually know, like, how the songs went. We were just, like, basically, whenever you do a table reading for the first time, you're reading the lyrics. Like, you were not singing along. You are reading the lyrics. So it was like, we had to read today is. Today is today is Monday, today is Tuesday.
And, like, we didn't know the song.
That was. That was a part of the humor. That was a part of the humor of it all. But, you know, I feel like we could also tell that, like, this is going to be a long journey of, like, you know, rewrites and, like, you know, the source of hero was great to start with, but we also knew that, like, a lot of things were going to change, and we had to be open to that change, which was hard, but, you know, we got through it.
[00:24:44] Speaker A: Why was it hard?
[00:24:47] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. So my song, nothing at all was created. I want to say, in June of 2022, right before our Syracuse run, that song has had the most lyric changes to it and the most, like, structure changes to it. I want to say that that song has had the most lyric changes. Like, oh, my gosh.
And whenever I sing it, like, I. I always think of a different lyric. Like, it's no joke. Like, when I am Velma from Scooby Doo, I pick up clue so easily. Or, like, when I am Apollo Creed, I am the champion of the ring. And, like, just lyrics that you wouldn't even think of. Like, lyrics that, like, the rest of. Like, I literally told the rest of the cast, like, some of the lyrics that I've gone through, even Sammy the director did not know that some of these lyrics existed. Like, so many lyric changes. So many changes. Like, the song structure in general.
Wow.
Wow. Yeah.
[00:25:56] Speaker A: And so what would you like meeting the creative team, working alongside them?
And what would you like meeting the accessibility team and walking alongside them as well?
[00:26:19] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. So I was so nervous to meet the rest of the creative team because all I knew was Jacob from the summer camp, but, like, you know, now I had to meet, like, so many other people. But in terms of the accessibility team, I remember it used to be just one person. It used to be Ava, you know, as the ASD consultant, and then that expanded over the course of, you know, the production to so many more people, which was so great to see that, but, you know, yeah, it was really nerve wracking at first, but I'm glad that the accessibility team has expanded so much.
[00:26:58] Speaker A: What do you think it is about this show that made people keep seeing it again and again and again? Like, I saw it six times. I've never done that before. But if you follow Jacob's instagram, which everyone absolutely should see, he was highlighting fans who said, this is my 20th time, my 30th time.
What about this musical, do you think, hurt people in such a way? Because as the avid musical theater goer, I have never, ever witnessed that kind of devotion before.
[00:28:15] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's definitely like people seeing themselves represented for the first time or even seeing, like, an inkling of, like, the disability community represented for the first time. I think representation and connection is such, you know, that. That really. That it's so. It's so important, except, like, like, you know, it's just representation is so important. And when people are able to see themselves for the first time in a piece of mediaev, like, you just want to keep coming back, you know what I mean? Like, you know, I've watched. I've rewatched shows so many times because I feel represented in them. Like, you know, I have my book of a strange loop, the musical, and I read through that so many times. You know, I listen to the music so much. You know, it's just like, seeing yourself represented is so powerful.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: Yeah, I remember going the second and third time even because the soundtrack wasn't out yet, and I was in a panic that maybe you guys wouldn't release that soundtrack, which now sounds.
But those songs and those lyrics stick with you. What was it like shooting? Well, not only recording that soundtrack, but also shooting the COVID because the COVID it's very iconic.
[00:30:04] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. The photo shoot, the photo shoot, the photo. Oh, my God. That was. I had the best time. That was my first time ever being photographed and we had gotten styled. We had gotten our makeup done. We had gotten our hair done, and our photographer, Mark. Mark Franklin, was so great. He was truly so great. And I truly felt, like, safe in a space because I hate taking photos of myself. Like, I've always hated taking photos of myself. And, like, up until that point, like, I've never seen a photo and, like, been like, that's me. You know? Like, that's who I feel like I am inside. And, you know, I took one look at the photo when he first, like, photographed, and I was like, that's me. You know, that's. That's who I am. And those photos are truly something special. And it was so funny because, like, we were taking the photos and, like, the set when. When the seven of us were together, none of us could stop laughing.
So, like, there was, like, one. Like, there was, like. I think there was, like, one serious photo that we took, and that was a photo that was on the outside of the theater.
That was the only serious photo that we took because we just kept cracking up the entire time.
[00:31:28] Speaker A: So, hypothetically, if there was a sequel, what would you hope it would explore?
[00:31:45] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. I hope it explores queer people in the autistic community, specifically through the roles of Mel and Remy.
You know, Remy, my version of Remy, being intersex as well.
It's really not often that you have actual intersex characters in the media. And so I think it would be really important to explore the intersection of identities, you know, of the autistic people, you know, being a woman, being, like, you know, black, you know, being, you know, anything, really. But, you know, exploring what that means for autistic people, navigating different identities as well. And I also want Remy to find romance. You know, I want, like, I want there to be, like, a queer romance, you know?
[00:32:34] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaking of Mel, there's a line, a short scene between Mel and Ashley, Doctor Amigo's daughter, which I always love because it hits at so many possibilities of what happened before, and you kind of get a payoff with reincarnation of this reconciliation between the two. But that moment always piqued my interest because I'm. Why?
Tell me more.
Yeah. And they don't. They don't. They can because they have so much more to get to. What was it like being part of a ensemble? Cats, where there's no main characters, but there's the main heteronormal romance, but really there's no main characters. Everyone gets a song. All.
Almost all of you are in everyone else's songs to some degree.
What was the rehearsing, like, to that? Uh, for that? Because, again, I don't. I can't really recall another musical that is structured that way.
[00:34:45] Speaker B: Yeah. So luckily for, like, rehearsals, like, our arts team was very, like, you know, if you are called from this time to this time, like, you will be active. Like, you know, they only called us when they needed us, thank God, because that would have been very boring. But we were only called when we were needed, which was very, very great.
You know, our time was used wisely and with care, which I appreciate a lot. But, you know, it was. It was.
It's fun, but, like, you know, the seven of us were called for, like, everything, you know?
But that's just. That's just the part of the job. That's just how it goes.
[00:35:31] Speaker A: And so how much did you guys interact with the accessibility team and on not a daily basis, but responsive wides, because, again, the accessibility team, I think it's the third accessibility team to be attached to a show.
Certainly a show like this.
So what would that experience like, and how did that change the dynamics of the work?
[00:36:33] Speaker B: Yeah, so the accessibility team had, like, an email, and, like, whenever we had, like, anything arise, we could literally just email them and then get back to us within, like, an hour. Like, they were on top of it. Like, they were on top of it. Like, truly, like, and also they wrote a lot of stuff, like, behind the scenes. Like.
Like, Liz Weber, for example. One of our assistants, like, our assistant stage managers, made mood boards for our dressing rooms and made the theater accessible. Like, we had mood boards outside of our dressing rooms with, like, a happy face and, like, you know, like, a mid face and then, like, a sad face. Like, we could, like, figure out, like, okay, what's everybody feeling? When can we go into the dressing rooms? There's also, like, whiteboards outside there so we can, like, write on them and be like, hey, not right now.
We also had. They also put clocks inside of our dressing room. So, like, you know, some of us that, like, struggle with, like, time and stuff.
And Liz also went ahead and put unscented soap in every single bathroom in that theater for us, because some of us struggle with scents and stuff.
[00:37:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: Liz put unscented soap. Like, Liz.
Liz, if you are watching this, thank you. Liz does not get recognized enough for their work, truly making the theater accessible for the cast and for other people as well.
Wow. Wow.
[00:38:04] Speaker A: So what got you into acting?
And did you ever have the dream of being on Broadway or what you like? Well, I'm now on Broadway. Help me on something like that.
[00:38:33] Speaker B: That's so real. That's so real. Oh, my gosh. I did not know that I wanted to become an actor. Like, truly, like my. I wanted to be, like, an engineer.
I went to an engineering school, and I did not know I wanted to become an actor.
I went through a pretty traumatic puberty as an intersex person because I went through male and female puberty at the same time.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So, you know, I was born female, but, like, you know, my voice was dropping tremendously. So I used to sing a lot when I was a kid, but, you know, I started going through puberty, and my voice was dropping a lot, and I was growing facial hair and, you know, body hair as somebody who was born female, which is really, really confusing for me as a kid and also in middle school, kids are so mean.
But, you know, I used to sing a lot, and then I stopped singing because I was like, I feel terrible in my body. My voice is changing. I don't like this, you know? And all of a sudden, the stuff that I used to be able to sing, I wasn't able to sing anymore, which hurt a lot. And then, you know, for a while, I didn't sing because I was like, oh, I sound too feminine, you know. Cause I was identifying as a man at the time, you know, and I was like, oh, I sound too feminine. Like, I can't do this. Like, my voice is like, you know, really weird. And I remember, you know, back in high school, I tried out for, you know, our spring musical, which was Rogers and Hammerstein, Cinderella, and, you know, I got a callback for Lord Pinkleton, and, you know, Lord Pingleton sings, like, these crazy high notes in this song, and I was the only guy that was able to reach these high notes.
So it ended up. My voice ended up being my strength. And then I really. I truly found out from there, like, you know, all of these, you know, things that I thought were bad in my life actually ended up being my strength and ended up being, you know, something that I could work with. And then from there on, you know, it was like, I am unique, you know, I'm, you know, I'm singular. I have to keep going with this, you know? And so many people saw themselves represented in me that I just had to keep going, you know?
[00:40:56] Speaker A: What was the final Broadway show like for you as an actor? And then the show goes dormant, and then you get the call a few weeks later that they're reviving it for a Broadway reunion concert what were those two experiences, like, for you?
[00:41:36] Speaker B: Yeah, so, like, when the Broadway run ended, we were just like, this is not the end. Like, there's gonna be. There's going to be something else. Like, they're already planning stuff.
And, you know, it was like, it was a few months before we got the call for the Broadway reunion concert, but when, like, we always knew that there was, like, something, like, something was going to happen, like, and then we got the email about that and we're like, oh, there it is. There it is. There. There's what we were, you know, talking about. So, you know, it was. It was fun, you know, and also, it was really nice to see everybody again and have, like, the original cast back and being able to, like, you know, be with everybody.
[00:42:16] Speaker A: Talked to liam a lot during the. After the reunion show, and it would, like, I would. The only one in that room, uh, he would laser focus on me.
But why do you think that there is so.
So many misconceptions surrounding autism and autistic people, that they're nothing so donut, funny, uh, eager, tinstiggle, etc. Etc.
Odd savant.
You odd savant. Because naturally, except, no, it's not natural at all. It's misconception.
But they precede even to the day. Why do you think that? It's a big question.
[00:43:41] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it comes from neurotypical people and non disabled people particularly.
You know, I feel like especially when it comes to not casting authentically and having, you know, neurotypical actors play autistic characters, there's a lot of misconceptions that come through with it, you know, trying to act autistic. And I feel like that's where a lot of the misconceptions come from, you know?
[00:44:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
So if there are any inspiring actors or advocates legioning or watching vids, I almost called vids. Performance vids showed. Yeah, I've been doing this quite a while that the bugs and hopefully only time I screw up.
[00:44:38] Speaker B: Oh, my God.
[00:44:39] Speaker A: Uh, yeah. Uh, so if there.
If any aspiring actors are advocates are watching this episode, alleging to it, want to get into acting on self advocacy, as someone who got trudged into the spotlight right out of high school or when you would still in high school, what would be some action steps that you would provide?
[00:45:28] Speaker B: Yeah, I would tell people, like, be yourself. Like, do not let other people change you, and also do not listen to the haters because there are people are gonna hate you no matter what. Like, that's just something that, like, I knew from a very young age that people were gonna hate me no matter what. Like, but if they were gonna hate me, I might as well be happy while they hate me, you know what I mean? I'd rather them, like, you know, never get, like, people are gonna hate me no matter what. Like, I might as well, like, look fly while I'm doing it, you know? Like, I might as well, like, be myself, you know, give them a reason to hate me, you know? Like, whatever. Like, you know? But also, it's okay not to know what you need in the moment, because everybody talks about self advocacy, but there's also times like, you don't know what you need to, like, you don't know what you need in the moment. And that's okay. That is okay.
Yeah.
[00:46:25] Speaker A: And so I hope, Vince, it's only the first interview, all performance we do together, because I've had Vlads talking to you, sharing.
[00:46:44] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:46:47] Speaker A: Stories wrapping up the. We've talked about a lot of topics in this episode. I like to think that advocates with disabilities and those who have yet to discover art and raids their own disabilities, both legend and watch this show. But I'm not naive to think that either group takes away the same thing. So add my guests. What do you hope? Hope that advocates with disabilities take away from this episode, and what do you hope that people who have yet to discover or embrace their own disabilities take away from the zepped?
[00:48:01] Speaker B: Yeah, I hope people take away that, like, things happen on your own timeline. You know, you don't know, you don't owe anyone anything. Things happen on your own timeline. Take your time. Be gentle with yourself.
You know, it takes a lot of self love to get to, like, you know, the point of advocacy to the point of, you know, where a lot of people might be at the moment.
But even then, everybody's fighting a journey that nobody knows anything about.
So you have to be gentle with yourself, be kind to yourself throughout this journey.
[00:48:40] Speaker A: If someone wants to follow your career or maybe get in touch with you to your agent, how would they do that? Where are you?
[00:48:58] Speaker B: I am on Instagram.
My Instagram is Edwards.
You can just look up Desmond Lewis Edwards. I'm sure it might pop up.
I also have an art account on Instagram. It's called desert.
You'll be able to find me through there. I'm on TikTok.
I'm also on Tumblr.
I'm at Wakanda. Never on Tumblr.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:49:34] Speaker A: That's another episode.
Yeah, let's leave it there.
[00:49:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:46] Speaker A: Laughing his.
I want to thank you so much for coming thank you.
[00:49:55] Speaker B: Thank you for having me for, uh.
[00:49:59] Speaker A: Giving so much life to Remy and the cats. And I look forward to seeing you on stage again, hopefully very soon.
[00:50:15] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:50:17] Speaker A: Take care.
[00:50:18] Speaker B: All right, bye.
[00:50:29] Speaker A: You have been listening to disability empowerment. Now I would like to thank my dads, you, Oledzina, and the did Empowerment team that made didse episode podcable. More information about the podcast can be
[email protected] or on our social media ad disability empowerment. Now, the podcast is available wherever you listen to. Podcasts are on the official website. Don't forget to read, comment, and share the podcast. This episode of Disability Empowerment knowledge copyrighted 2020.
