Curtis Park actor directs
unique repertory of disabled actors

By Leslie Goodbody
Viewpoint Staff Writer

Shady tree-lined streets and unique homes may draw people to Curtis Park, but it's the people who inhabit these dwellings that make it an interesting place to live. Jim Anderson of Second Avenue is one of those people.

Having lived in Curtis Park since 1985 with his wife, Julia Connor, artist and current poet laureate of Sacramento, and their dog, Shakespeare, Jim has spent most of his career in theater, as an actor, a teacher and a director.

Earlier in his acting career, Jim toured with professional Shakespeare companies as an equity actor. More recently, Jim has enjoyed lead roles with Sacramento's California Stage performing in short plays by 17th century comedic French playwright, Moliere.

A memorable Moliere play for Jim was Les Precieuses Redicules, in which the first act was performed in classical French, and the second Americanized act, dubed Them Precious Ladies, was performed in English with a Texas twang. If you saw California Stage's 2005 production of Becoming Julia Morgan, Jim played the role of William Randolf Hearst.

Like most people in performing arts, Jim also has a day job. Before moving to Curtis Park, he taught high school drama classes at the Sacramento Waldorf School. The same year he moved to Curtis Park, he saw an opening as artistic director of the Short Center Repertory, a local theater company featuring adult actors with developmental challenges.

Jim approached this opportunity with caution having raised a developmentally challenged son, who is now 45.

"I didn't want to mix art with pity," said Jim, so he went to several Short Center plays and worked with the actors for three years before finally accepting the position. He was happy to find that all of the actors were serious about acting. Since then, his work at Short Center has become a labor of love.

"Actors with developmental challenges present a world-view rarely seen in mainstream theater," offered Jim, who appreciates the fact that Short Center's actors have chosen acting as a profession, many having resumes that include theater and television. He encourages the actors to lend their own interpretation to each part without reducing the part or limiting their role in the play.

Disabilities, like a tick, slurred speech or staggered gate, often become character assets. While all of Short Center's performances are American Sign Language interpreted, some of their performances are done by deaf actors using sign language with an audio interpreter.

Short Center Repertory performs locally at the California Stage at 25th and R Streets. If you are curious about this unique approach to theater, it can be viewed there from Aug. 3 -19, when the Short Center Repertory presents an original adaptation by nationally known playwright, Rick Foster, based on the ancient stories about "Gilgamesh," a Babylonian king from 2700 B.C.

"It is important to breakdown stereotypes by showing young people what these exceptional actors can do," said Jim. "It is equally important for children who are hearing impaired, blind, or have other developmental challenges to have successful adult role models in community."

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