In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Lincoln Center’s ADA in the Arts features programs with and for people with disabilities.

Presented in collaboration with Queens Theatre

Death Bites Transcript with Audio Description »

Written and performed by a team of disabled artists, this play was originally presented in 2018 as part of Theatre For All Short Plays; Queens Theatre’s New American Voices Play Development Reading Series, featuring actors from QT’s Theatre For All Training Program. The work explores disabled identity through a fantastical premise.

Makena Metz (Playwright) writes fantasy, sci-fi, and magical realism for the stage. She studied Playwriting & Theatre Directing at Columbia College Chicago and is a proud member of DGA & ASCAP.

Gwynn MacDonald (Director) is a theater director who has directed or produced theater, TV, film and radio. Member of: SDC, Drama League, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, League of Prof Theatre Women.

Ali Hardy (Amy) Ali is an actor, playwright, and chronic illness/rare disease advocate. She is also the co-founder of the creative collective, Reckless Theatrics.

Johnny Link (Dracula) Johnny is a New York based actor, singer, and musician. Follow his work at @johnnyvlink and www.johnnylink.net

Kerry McMenamin (Stage Directions) Kerry continues to study TV and Film, Commercial and Voice Over acting and was part of the Queens Theatre - Theatre For All program the last 2 years.

A Note from Gregg Mozgala, Director of Inclusion at Queens Theatre
Since 2017, in an effort to more fully realize Queens Theatre’s mission to “provide quality and diverse performing arts activities that are economically and geographically accessible to the 2.2 million residents of Queens, the most ethnically diverse county in the nation, and the surrounding metropolitan region” Queens Theatre has made an intentional effort to be more inclusive and welcoming of the disabled community throughout New York City and the nation.

Our Theatre For All Initiative (TFA), provides opportunities for audiences, regardless of background or ability to experience first class art featuring disabled talent and for disabled theatre professionals to practice their craft, hone their skills and gather regularly with each other and with the larger QT community, to exchange ideas, build connections and celebrate the work we create together.

2020 marks the Thirtieth Anniversary of the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. This landmark civil rights legislation was the result of decades worth of community organization and political action by disabled activists and their allies to ensure a more just and equitable society for all Americans.

As an inaugural recipient of The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Disability Forward Fund, we used this support to present a festival of 10 short plays by disabled writers and/or featuring characters with disabilities. We put out a national call for submissions and received more than 150 responses in just four weeks!

“Death Bites“ is one of the plays we originally presented in a sold out presentation as part of an evening of TFA Short Plays in November of 2018, and we are pleased to be sharing it with you today as part of Lincoln Center’s Disability Unite Festival.

This play is just one small example of the many parts of the Theatre For All Initiative, because to practice radical inclusion and access we believe it all has to happen all at the same time. We hope, like those before us who have paved the way to make this kind of work possible, Queens Theatre can model for others in the Cultural sector and promote the idea that truly inclusive theater is about reflecting the experience of all of us.

You can find out more about our programs and initiatives by visiting our website, Theatre For All Queens Theatre.