AUBURN - Fingerlakes Artists, Musicians and Entertainers (FAME) are heading to the big screen.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Terry Manwaring, Kevin Carlton, Robin Wilson, Todd Eggleston and Annie Loyster (seated) are among the cast members of the movie “The Falls,” which will be playing on Thursday evening at the Fingerlakes Mall. The movie was produced by Fingerlakes Artists, Musicians and Entertainers (FAME), a group created by Seneca Cayuga ARC to promote performing abilities by adults with disabilities.
Terry Manwaring, Kevin Carlton, Robin Wilson, Todd Eggleston and Annie Loyster (seated) are among the cast members of the movie “The Falls,” which will be playing on Thursday evening at the Fingerlakes Mall. The movie was produced by Fingerlakes Artists, Musicians and Entertainers (FAME), a group created by Seneca Cayuga ARC to promote performing abilities by adults with disabilities.
FAME, Seneca-Cayuga ARC's theatrical program, will show its first full-length film Thursday at the Fingerlakes Theatre in Auburn. The hour-long movie, called “The Falls,” continues the mission FAME has been carrying out through theater performances - promote and develop the performing talents of adults with intellectual and physical disabilities.
In “The Falls,” four people mysteriously disappear during an ARC outing. As authorities begin their search, the four missing people magically appear back in their own rooms, having undergone both physical and mental transformation. While the FBI investigates the mystery, the characters make discoveries about themselves.
The movie features about 40 area actors, many of whom deal with intellectual disabilities, engaging in song, dance and even standup comedy. The title comes from the waterfalls in Moravia, where part of the movie takes place.
According to Pam Wilson, director of planning and resource development for ARC and the movie's producer, “The Falls” is a mystery, but it also has a spiritual message.
“The purpose is to show what it is like to be a person with a disability,” Wilson said. “You also get a little bit of a view of what goes on in an agency that serves people with disabilities.”
FAME started in 1999 as a Christmas program organized by ARC, a non-profit group dedicated to assisting and supporting people with disabilities.
Since its first show, FAME has produced 12 original productions featuring performers with intellectual and physical disabilities.
FAME was awarded “Program of the Year” in 2002 from the Cayuga County Community Services Board, and it received recognition in 2004 for inclusion of the arts from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.
Patricia Rafferty has volunteered as an acting coach with FAME since its inception, and is also a vocational rehabilitation councilor at ARC.
According to Rafferty, programs like FAME provide opportunities for self-expression to people who might not otherwise have them.
“People everywhere involve themselves in the theater arts,” Rafferty said. “We want to provide that for people with disabilities.”
And the performance arts help everyone involved develop important reading, organizational and memory skills, as well as self-esteem and confidence.
“We are all picking up skills as we do this,” Rafferty said.
This year, FAME volunteers decided to put together a film after receiving a grant for a video camera through the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
The program held a talent call and wrote parts for everyone who wanted to be involved.
Audiences can expect more movies from FAME, as the program is looking to further integrate actors with and without disabilities, Rafferty said.
But the new medium has still created some new challenges.
“It takes a lot longer to make a movie,” Pam Wilson said. “And the actors don't get the applause after every performance, like in a play.”
However, this will be the first time the cast will also be in the audience for a FAME premier, and none of the actors have seen the movie yet.
“They are going to love seeing themselves on the big screen,” Wilson said. “And I do think that people will see that the actors really do have a lot of talent.”
If you go
What: “The Falls”
Who: FAME, Seneca Cayuga ARC's theatrical program, presents its first feature film showcasing the talents of individuals with intellectual disabilities
When: 6 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Fingerlakes Mall Cinemas,
Fingerlakes Mall, Aurelius
Cost: $5
For more information about FAME: Visit www.sencayarc.org/fame.shtml
In “The Falls,” four people mysteriously disappear during an ARC outing. As authorities begin their search, the four missing people magically appear back in their own rooms, having undergone both physical and mental transformation. While the FBI investigates the mystery, the characters make discoveries about themselves.
The movie features about 40 area actors, many of whom deal with intellectual disabilities, engaging in song, dance and even standup comedy. The title comes from the waterfalls in Moravia, where part of the movie takes place.
According to Pam Wilson, director of planning and resource development for ARC and the movie's producer, “The Falls” is a mystery, but it also has a spiritual message.
“The purpose is to show what it is like to be a person with a disability,” Wilson said. “You also get a little bit of a view of what goes on in an agency that serves people with disabilities.”
FAME started in 1999 as a Christmas program organized by ARC, a non-profit group dedicated to assisting and supporting people with disabilities.
Since its first show, FAME has produced 12 original productions featuring performers with intellectual and physical disabilities.
FAME was awarded “Program of the Year” in 2002 from the Cayuga County Community Services Board, and it received recognition in 2004 for inclusion of the arts from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.
Patricia Rafferty has volunteered as an acting coach with FAME since its inception, and is also a vocational rehabilitation councilor at ARC.
According to Rafferty, programs like FAME provide opportunities for self-expression to people who might not otherwise have them.
“People everywhere involve themselves in the theater arts,” Rafferty said. “We want to provide that for people with disabilities.”
And the performance arts help everyone involved develop important reading, organizational and memory skills, as well as self-esteem and confidence.
“We are all picking up skills as we do this,” Rafferty said.
This year, FAME volunteers decided to put together a film after receiving a grant for a video camera through the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
The program held a talent call and wrote parts for everyone who wanted to be involved.
Audiences can expect more movies from FAME, as the program is looking to further integrate actors with and without disabilities, Rafferty said.
But the new medium has still created some new challenges.
“It takes a lot longer to make a movie,” Pam Wilson said. “And the actors don't get the applause after every performance, like in a play.”
However, this will be the first time the cast will also be in the audience for a FAME premier, and none of the actors have seen the movie yet.
“They are going to love seeing themselves on the big screen,” Wilson said. “And I do think that people will see that the actors really do have a lot of talent.”
If you go
What: “The Falls”
Who: FAME, Seneca Cayuga ARC's theatrical program, presents its first feature film showcasing the talents of individuals with intellectual disabilities
When: 6 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Fingerlakes Mall Cinemas,
Fingerlakes Mall, Aurelius
Cost: $5
For more information about FAME: Visit www.sencayarc.org/fame.shtml
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