Wally Soares, right, plays Speed and Gemini Burke is Murray the Cop in "The Odd Couple." Photo by Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
In ASATAD's new production of Neil Simon's classic "The Odd Couple," the only accommodations made for actor Wally Soares, who uses a wheelchair, are enlarged passageways so the wheelchair can zip on and off stage.
"That, and steel-toed shoes for the other actors for when he runs over our feet," joked director Gary Anderson. "Just kidding."
Soares plays Speed, the cranky poker-playing crony of Oscar Madison. Simon didn't write the part for a guy in a wheelchair. On the other hand, there's no indication Speed ISN'T in a wheelchair. It simply doesn't matter and Anderson and Soares believe that's exactly the point.
This is Soares' first attempt at acting. He and Anderson met when the director called Soares' company, Island Skill Gathering Soares finds work and hardware for people with disabilities for a text telephone for another production. "We weren't really looking for someone in a wheelchair, but Wally has such a bubbly personality that he has a lot to contribute, and we like being around him," Anderson said.
Although Soares is used to public speaking at workshops and seminars he's quick on his feet, so to speak he didn't realize so much work was involved in acting.
"Memorizing lines! It's eye-opening," Soares said. "I didn't realize you needed talent to act! And you have to memorize the whole play, not just your own lines, so it flows naturally."
Soares is wheeled onto the stage via motorcycle ramp, and there are lips on the edge of the stage so he doesn't roll off. Other than that, "the critical part is just learning to be an actor," Soares said. "The others are veterans, so I'm learning off them, and Gary and Diana (Carter Anderson) are very nurturing."
Early in life, Soares developed a congenital spinal-chord disease that left him quadriplegic. He's fought ever since against the stigma of being "handicapped," a 17th-century legal definition for those allowed to beg cap-in-hand.