'They make me feel welcomed in the world'

How Pink Umbrella Theater amplifies the stories of disabled actors and artists

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with several of the cast members of “Portraits,” a musical play produced by Pink Umbrella Theater in 2024. Those cast members included Jack Allen, Ali Meisinger, Amanda Lojeski, Eugene Strei, Ash Mulholland, Garrett Scott, and Pip Buffington.

I don’t usually interview that many people at one time for an article because trying to listen to that many stories, experiences, voices at once can be chaotic and overwhelming. It’s similar to most meetings I’ve been part of, or social gatherings — people have a tendency to talk over each other, to interrupt each other to get their point across. It’s usually not ill-intentioned; it’s just that people are feeding off the energy of each other and are excited to give their input.

My meeting at Pink Umbrella was definitely chaotic, the actors were eager to tell me their experiences, and there was a lot of excited energy. But I didn’t feel overwhelmed.

Because there was also so much care to make sure that people didn’t feel excluded. Even when they were interrupted — when someone felt like they had to get their point across at that specific moment — there was an, “Oh, excuse me, I’m sorry, can I make this point quickly?” rather than just talking over the person. And, invariably, afterwards, there was an, “I’m sorry I interrupted. Can you go back to what you were saying?”

After my meeting with the Pink Umbrella actors, I couldn’t wait to get back to my car to jot down my notes. I wrote as I walked; I was that excited to capture the feeling I had experienced — of this group of people with such sincere compassion, respect, and empathy for each other.

Jack Allen has always loved theater. It’s so much a part of his life that he doesn’t even remember a before-time. Or the first time he performed in front of an audience.

But his parents do.

“Our favorite story is when Jack was in first grade and he signed up for the talent show without us knowing about it,” Jack’s father, John, told me.

Jack’s mom, Johanna, said they finally found out that Jack had signed up not from their son, but from his teachers who asked if they were looking forward to seeing Jack perform at the talent show.

“After we found out, we agreed he could perform,” John said. “He sang ‘The Rainbow Connection’ in front of a packed theater and he brought the house down.”

Johanna said that from that point on, seeing “the joy it brought him, we continued to follow his lead and put theater experiences in his path.”

“We wanted him to lead us to what he loved.”

Jack would go on to perform in all his elementary and high school plays and musicals. He also attended many summer workshops at the theater academy at First Stage Children’s Theater. It was there that he met Katie Cummings, who, at the time, was the academy’s director.

Katie would leave First Stage to found Pink Umbrella Theater in 2018. And Jack was one of the theater’s first actors.

Pink Umbrella is a professional theater company which works with disabled actors and artists. The theater holds workshops and classes for disabled people from age 4 to adult, and hires them to perform in their productions. Their goal? To “create a space that is inclusive and accessible for all.” Their desire? “To “change the narrative by changing the narrator.”