A student production of “Romeo and Juliet” at Delaware County Community College features a performance by 24-year-old Gillian Keener, playing Juliet’s mother, Lady Capulet.
Keener performs in a wheelchair, with a breathing tube, born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, writes Madeleine Wright for CBS Philadelphia.
“She doesn’t really know how to interact with her own daughter,” Keener said about the character. “And I think sometimes that I can draw from my feelings of being disabled and sometimes not knowing how to interact with people because I think sometimes people are a little uncomfortable with interacting with me. So I think … it’s a really great role for me.”
The outdoor show runs through Saturday evening, June 8, 8 to 9:30, at 901 South Media Line Road in Media.
Keener is a liberal arts major at the college who is also in the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
Drama professor Stephen Smith cast Keener because of her warm, nurturing personality and said the actress is extremely motivated.
People with disabilities are underrepresented in the performing arts, with only 1.5 percent of Actors Equity contracts going to actors who self-identify as having a disability as of 2021.
Read more about the show and Keener’s performance at CBS Philadelphia.
