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Dear John

Declaring a disability

First published 12th May 2005

Question:
I am an actor with an obvious physical disablity but one which is not obvious from my head and shoulders shots. Although I am not ashamed of my disability - it is part of who I am - I am not sure whether I should mention it up-front when I contact casting directors (I am not currently with an agent).

I am certainly not adverse to playing disabled characters nor am I looking for special treatment but believe that I can win any part on my merits as an actor, first and foremost. However, I also know we live in the real world and my fear is that if casting directors put me in a 'disabled' box as soon as they open the envelope, it will narrow the castings for which I get called.

So, full disclosure or surprise them when I turn up? Both courses of action have been suggested to me, what is your opinion?

Answer:
The old adage 'You can either say you don't know something, or plough ahead and prove you don't know it' has saved my blushes on more than one occasion. Which is why, not having the experience of disability myself, I'm turning your query over to Louise Dyson, founder of the VisABLE agency, which represents only actors with disabilities. Here is her advice:

"Give casting directors a good surprise by sending them a brief note beforehand with your CV, emphasising your perhaps unexpected abilities and self-evident independence. The way to handle this is determined by the nature of your disability, eg: 'Can I check you have a wheelchair accessible entrance please? I'll be driving myself and have no need for special assistance, incidentally, so will find a suitable parking space nearby. This role appears to be equally suitable for a wheelchair user and no special arrangements will be required of you, so I hope you will give me the opportunity to try for it on an equal basis.'

Or: 'I shall be accompanied by my guide dog and I always prefer using the tube where practicable, so it will be helpful to know the nearest tube station please. This role appears to be equally suitable for an actor with impaired vision and no special arrangements will be required of you - I always convert my scripts to Braille myself and learn my roles very quickly - so I hope you will give me the opportunity to try for it on an equal basis.'

Whatever your impairment, always include a good full-length shot of yourself when you send your CV. A good agent would be doing all of this on your behalf and the aim of VisABLE is to place its artists in mainstream roles where their disability is simply a characteristic which has no relevance to the character.

Surprising a casting director with a disability may leave them feeling out of their depth, so could work against you. Surprise is best when pleasant, so a better aim would be for the casting director to be left feeling very impressed with the surprising abilities of you as an artist.

The reason most will try to avoid hiring disabled talent is probably only because of fear. Fear of what they don't know, perhaps fear of not being able to expect a lot - above all, fear of offending by saying the wrong thing. VisABLE represents only artists with disabilities and we always emphasise skills and extraordinary accomplishments. We pre-empt likely concerns by sending a brief note in advance, which says, for example, that no special considerations are expected except for obvious access requirements but that anything else will be arranged by ourselves or by the artist concerned.

In practice, we find that once we have arranged for artists to cast, most people are very helpful and receptive to being asked for small favours which can help but our first aim is to get the actor's proverbial foot in the door, which is what you should also be focused on."

The VisABLE website is at www.visablepeople.com and as with all the queries covered in this column, Dear John would be delighted to get other perspectives and suggestions on this issue from casting directors and other artists with disabilities, which I should be happy to pass on.