In Minnesota, U.S., Kiwanis family members with disabilities share their talents and an inclusive message.
By Erin Chandler
In the summer of 2024, residents of Mankato, Minnesota, U.S., attended a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. Partially scripted and partially improvised, “The Welcoming Table: Relevance and Stories that Matter” featured performers telling their own stories in their own ways.
One woman dressed as a cheerleader to tell the audience about being excluded from activities like cheerleading when she was growing up because of her disability. A man with a visual disability explained how he discovered a love for woodworking despite people telling him, “You can’t do that because you’re blind.”
Some of the actors sang, some performed original poems, some served as narrators. One held up signs with messages like, “Our stories matter.” And as they shared their stories, each actor placed a tile to make up the surface of a table that, when complete, represented inclusion.
Every performer was a member of the Mankato Aktion Club Theatre.
“People want to be accepted for who they are and invited to the table,” director Wilbur Neuschwander-Frink explains.
“Check out what we can do”
Neuschwander-Frink was introduced to inclusive theatre through decades of work with the self-advocacy movement for people with disabilities. When the Kiwanis Club of Mankato approached her in 2006 about forming an Aktion Club, she proposed making it a group for people who wanted to do theatre but never got the opportunity. Since then, Neuschwander-Frink has started three other Aktion Clubs — including the Fairmont Aktion Club Theatre, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Fairmont Early Risers.
“In the beginning,” Neuschwander-Frink recalls, “I had people who said to me, ‘Wilbur, I don’t see how you could even do a play.’ I had someone ask me, ‘Aren’t you embarrassed that people are going to fall all over each other or not know what they’re doing?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, you know what, why don’t you just come and check out what we do, and then we can have a conversation.’”
Neuschwander-Frink writes the plays based on brainstorming sessions with club members about what they want to share with the world. Past topics have included bullying, community life and other issues surrounding disability. There are no auditions — actors craft their own roles — and memorization is not required. Some actors have volunteers shadowing them during performances to help with lines and movement around the stage.
“Really our main goal is to make sure that people are included in the way that they want to be included, and so we work hard as a team,” Neuschwander-Frink says. “It has definitely created a community of care. We have to come together as a whole group of people to make it happen. And they always rise to the challenge.”
“You can be a star!”
In the beginning, some of the actors suffered from stage fright, lingering in the lobby. Neuschwander-Frink wasn’t sure they were going to come in and act with the rest of the group. But Aktion Club Theatre rehearsals are built around improvisation games and centering practices that help develop skills and build confidence. Over time, the actors blossomed.
In the Fairmont Aktion Club Theatre’s first performance in 2023, “there were people who were so shy, they didn’t want to say any words,” Neuschwander-Frink says. “But when they got onstage for our big production, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is like a whole new person!’”
She recalls one actor who was reluctant to speak in front of an audience, “but when he came out onstage, it was like pure joy, because he finally, in his life, was going to play a Ghostbuster. That was his dream in life.”
Neuschwander-Frink says the Aktion Club Theatre is “a great way for people to express their voice, to learn about their voice, to learn about the things that they have inside of them, those gifts and talents.”
The actors themselves agree.
Nate C., a member of the Aktion Club of Mankato, says he loves “that I get [to] learn new plays and have acting parts, and [it’s] lots of fun. Oh, also I enjoy meeting new people at practice.”
Amy Jo P. appreciates that “you can be yourself with your friends. You can share your gifts and talents with people.”
Mary Sue H. agrees: “You can be a star! I love it when my friends come and watch me act.”
“Our service to the world”
Their enthusiasm and commitment are catching on. Neuschwander-Frink estimates that the Fairmont Aktion Club gained 10-12 new members after its last play.
The larger community has caught on as well — including those who took up Neuschwander-Frink on her offer back in 2008 to see what the Aktion Club members were doing. Now they have the answer: acting, singing, dancing, cheerleading, woodworking, ghostbusting and so much more.
They also see the advantage of finding what’s possible rather than presuming to know what isn’t.
“I think it’s really taught our community, the people who have seen our shows, about what people can do. Instead of always focusing on the things that people cannot do, what can people do together?” Neuschwander-Frink says. “So we really think of that as our service to the world.”
Collaborating with Kiwanis on Aktion Club Theatre, she adds, has been “wonderful.” Kiwanians have been engaged throughout the process, attending and advertising shows as well as providing a yearly donation.
“In Fairmont, we actually have a Kiwanian who comes to every single rehearsal,” she says. “They don’t ever miss. And it’s not like they have to come to every one of our rehearsals — but she chooses to do that.”
Get involved
For Kiwanis clubs interested in sponsoring or supporting an Aktion Club Theatre group, Neuschwander-Frink recommends a first step: Look for a rehearsal and performance space that is fully accessible to people of all abilities. The second step is to find community partners — particularly disability advocacy organizations — to collaborate with.
The Mankato and Fairmont Aktion Club Theatres work with a nonprofit Neuschwander-Frink started called Open Arts Minnesota, which, she says, would be happy to provide resources to anyone interested.
Is your Kiwanis club interested in starting or sponsoring an Aktion Club? Learn more at aktionclub.org.
