Liz Weber (they/them) is an autistic freelance AEA stage manager and audio engineer/ designer who has a passion for justice and equality especially in the theater spaces that they work.  Most recently, they worked on the stage management and accessibility teams of How To Dance in Ohio on Broadway. The Access Team of How to Dance in Ohio won a 2024 Special Drama Desk highlighting their efforts to bring disability to the mainstream of a Broadway stage for the first time in a large swath. They also served as the Monitor Engineer at Big Top Chautauqua in Bayfield, Wisconsin for the past two summers where […]

Desmond Edwards is an Actor who played Remy in the Broadway Musical How to Dance in Ohio. Desmond and Keith talk about how the audition for the role and what the acting process is like on a big stage show. Desmond talks to Keith about the importance of How to Dance In Ohio and how it was preforming for the real Remy from the documentary. Desmond Luis Edwards (they/he/she) Broadway: How To Dance in Ohio (Remy) Regional Theatre: How to Dance in Ohio (Remy) at Syracuse Stage. TV: Blue Bloods. Desmond and their fabulous hair is represented by Bohemia Group […]

Madison Kopec is a native of South Bend, IN, where she grew up performing in community theatre. Diagnosed with Autism  as a junior in high school presented challenges, but opportunities also manifested. In 2019 she was cast in the industry reading of, INDIGO- A New Musical, which led to its Regional premier in 2023. That was quickly followed by the industry reading of How to Dance In Ohio, that Regional premier then the Broadway run in 2023-2024. She is honored to have met and worked with so many wonderful neurodiverse and neurotypical people these past few years and is very excited for […]

Ariel Reich is an NYC based Actor, Director and Mindfulness Artist. Most recently, she performed in the Broadway National Tour of The Band’s Visit. As a performer, Ariel has appeared on stages such as Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Dolby, among others. On screen, she appears in the film The Reunion, Love Online, as well as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Younger, and The Deuce. In addition to her performance career, Ariel has a background in Arts in Medicine, working as a researcher and practitioner. Her “Suicide Prevention through Theatre Intervention” research was internationally recognized in 2017 by the Culture, […]

REBEKAH GREER MELOCIK is a lyricist and book-writer. Her work with composer-collaborator, Jacob Yandura, includes THE LAST QUEEN OF CANAAN (book: Harrison David Rivers), WRINGER (dir: Stephen Brackett), THE TOWER and HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO (dir: Sammi Cannold) which premiered on Broadway Dec 10, 2023. Recognitions and residencies include: SPACE on Ryder Farm residency, Jonathan Larson Grant finalists, NAMT Festival of New Musicals, Ars Nova’s UNCHARTED residency, the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, the York Theatre’s NEO residency, the Yale Institute for Music Theatre, the Dramatists Guild fellowship, the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, Cap21’s […]

Nicole D’Angelo (they/she) is a music director, actor, and multi-instrumentalist in the NJ/NYC area. A recovering classical musician, they majored in piano and bass clarinet at Montclair State University before pursuing musical theater full time. Nicole recently made their Broadway debut as assistant music director and script consultant for the new musical How to Dance in Ohio, for which they won a special Drama Desk Award as a member of the show’s groundbreaking accessibility team. Other favorite credits include Fun Home (MD, StageWorks), The Civility of Albert Cashier (MD, Trans Entertainment Guild), and Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey, EPIC Players). Nicole is proudly Autistic and a passionate […]

Alaina is a Mainer who works with adults with intellectual disabilities through Community Case Management and as an Ed Technology in special education.   She attended the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico where she met many inspiring and enlightening individuals.  In her spare time Alaina enjoys puzzling, concerts, traveling, creating ideas for stories and long discussions about anything.    Alaina currently resides with her husband in a coastal community where they are renovating their home. She talks with Keith about their love of Depeche Mode.   BONUS EPISODE!! Disability Empowerment Now is produced by Pascal Albright.

JACOB YANDURA makes his Broadway debut as a composer with How to Dance in Ohio. Jacob’s first musical with lyricist-collaborator Rebekah Greer Melocik, Wringer, debuted Off-Broadway at New York City Center Stage II in 2016 (directed by Stephen Brackett; based on Jerry Spinelli’s novel). His other projects include The Last Queen of Canaan (book by Harrison David Rivers) and The Tower. Jacob holds a B.A. in Music Composition from Kenyon College and an M.F.A from New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. SEASON 3 FINALE!! Disability Empowerment Now is produced by Pascal Albright

Tobias Forrest is a performer with a disability with a background in accessible consulting and MS in psychology. He won the Christopher Reeve Acting Award for the film ”Daruma” and has credits including “The Academy Awards”, “Media Access Awards”, ”Law & Order: Organized Crime”, “How To Get Away With Murder”, “Queen Sugar” and many others. He has also done voiceover for animation as well as audio description for TV, narration for audiobooks and been the MC for nonprofit events. Disability Empowerment Now is produced by Pascal Albright.

Seattle singer-songwriter Halley Greg first rose to acclaim during the blind auditions on Season 20 of The Voice. John Legend called her slowed-down, piano ballad version of Nelly Furtado’s “I’m Like a Bird” “poetic” and “beautifully crafted,” and the performance earned her a spot on Team Kelly. Her appearance on the show coincided with the release of her debut album, American Harlot, a feminist rebranding of the pop/rock albums of the early 2000s. Filled with distorted guitar solos and pithy pop vocal melodies, the album is an ode to empowered women everywhere—a rock and rage romp with a few upbeat […]