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Joseph Rand, left, Fern Schlesinger, Joshua Alpert, Marleen Rothstein and Drew Lubeck in Theatre by the Bay’s “Annie Get Your Gun.” Schlesinger and Alpert have both overcome PHOTO COURTESY THEATRE BY THE BAY disabilities to pursue their theater dreams. YCOL-055865
RITZ CHAMBER PLAYERS Friday, November 11, 2011 • 7:00 pm Suggested donation: $10.00 Box Office: 718-262-2840 PAC info: 718-262-3750 www.york.cuny.edu
THE YORK COLLEGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 94-45 Guy Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11451
Major funding for this series provided by NYC Councilmembers Leroy Comrie (27th-CD) Deputy Majority Leader NY City Council and Chair of Land Use Committee, and Ruben Wills (28th-CD), Chair of Substance Abuse Sub-Committee.
FREE PARKING
Theater welcomes special needs actors by Mark Lord Chronicle Contributor
ROCHDALE VILLAGE THE MOST AFFORDABLE MITCHELL-LAMA HOUSING COOPERATIVE IN NYC THE LOWEST MONTHLY CARRYING CHARGES ● 3-6 MONTHS WAIT TIME FOR ONE-BEDROOMS ● 6 TO 9 MONTHS WAIT TIME FOR THREE-BEDROOMS FEATURING:
• PARK-LIKE SETTING ● 2 SHOPPING MALLS & 2 SUPERMARKETS ● COMMUNITY CENTER ● POST OFFICE & LIBRARY • WALK TO LIRR ● NR JFK AIRPORT, HIGHWAYS, BEACHES AND SHOPPING Purchase Prices, Income Limits, Occupancy Requirements & Monthly Carrying Charges are as Follows: Apt Size
Household Composition (persons)
Number Rooms
Approximate Monthly Carrying Charges
Equity
Maximum Household Income Range 1-3 Persons
1BR
1-2
3 (No dining)
$630.06 - $713.87
$7,200
1BR
1-2
3.5 (Dining)
$701.36 - $930.44
$8,400
1BR
1-2
4 (Terrace)
$827.45 - $1,030.78
$9,600
3BR
4-6
6 (No terrace)
$1,259.62 - $1,357.46
$14,400
3BR
4-6
6.5 (Terrace)
$1,357.61 - $1,438.43
$15,600
$44,814 $65,506 $55,559 $84,623 $58,968$93,975 $89,600 $125,111* $103,768 $129,563*
4+More Persons
N/A N/A N/A $102,400 $142,984* $118,592 $148,072*
Preference is given to all veterans, or their surviving spouses, who served on active duty in time of war as defined in Section 85 of the Civil Service Law, and reside in New York State. * Based on the total household income for the prior calendar year, less $1,000 for each personal and dependent exemption, and less $20,000 (or actual earnings if less) for each secondary wage earner. Households of three or more people whose income does not exceed 125% of the maximum income listed shall also be eligible for admission and shall pay a carrying charge surcharge. Household income must be within the allowable income limit at time of application and at time of apartment availability. TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION IN PERSON, please visit: Rochdale Village Management Office 169-65 137th Avenue, Jamaica, New York 11434 • Monday thru Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (718) 276-5700
TO REQUEST AN APPLICATION BY MAIL please send a self-addressed envelope with 84 cents postage to: Rochdale Village, Inc. • Applications Department • P.O. Box 218, Jamaica, New York 11434 TO DOWNLOAD AN APPLICATION, please visit: www.rochdalevillage.com, click on the “Apartment Sales” link on the left menu bar.
ROCV-055909
QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 3, 2011 Page 44
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Community theater is a collaboration. Putting on a show involves people of all kinds working together, side by side, in various capacities, most often for no pay because, as the famous song suggests, it’s what they do for love. The players devote weeks or even months of their lives memorizing lines, lyrics and dance moves. They spend countless hours, sometimes going home with aching backs following a night of set construction or with a pricked finger, the result of trying to sew too many costumes in too little time. But they don’t give up or give in. That might be even more true of those whose special needs pose particular challenges to the pursuit of their craft. More and more, actors with such disabilities are participating in Queens theater. Take, for instance, Fern Schlesinger, a 22 year old with a mild case of Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism typified by difficulties with social interaction, who is performing in Theatre By the Bay’s current production of “Annie Get Your Gun.” “When I was little I knew I was different,” Schlesinger said in a recent telephone conversation. “I didn’t know why. I played with toys, but by myself. When somebody tells a joke, everyone cracks up, but I don’t because it doesn’t make any sense to me. I have trouble with social cues and very subtle humor.” But that didn’t stop her from winning a role in the show, which runs through Nov. 20 at Bay Terrace Jewish Center. “I just love being on stage so much,” she said. “Once I know everybody, I’m
good. I’ve been getting along with everyone. They seem happy to see me.” A Queens native who lives in Flushing, Schlesinger also has a stutter, which is aggravated when she gets nervous. Luckily, she said, she never suffers from stage fright. And she loves to sing, one thing that makes her stutter disappear. “Whenever I really focus,” she said, “no matter what it is, I end up not stuttering.” Though she had done a limited amount of acting in college, “Annie Get Your Gun” is her first musical and her first community theater experience. Schlesinger has taken theater classes at both Queensborough Community College and Queens College, and has been taking private voice lessons for over a year. Being in a show “is really amazing,” she said. “I really hope to do more. Once I do enough community theater, I hope to perform one day on Broadway. You have no idea how bad I want it.” Sharing the stage with Schlesinger is 25-year-old Joshua Alpert, also making his first on-stage appearance in a community theater production. Diagnosed at birth with a moderate case of Down syndrome, often associated with some impairment of cognitive ability and physical growth, Alpert, according to his father, Bob Alpert, a long-time performer on local stages, “is verbal. He understands everything. He doesn’t pronounce clearly but he can make his needs known.” Joshua Alpert, who has attended specialized schools on Long Island, where he lives with his father, got a taste of show continued on page 00 49