A friend of mine recently asked me the question, “Where are you uniquely suited to offer the most value to others?”
Although I don’t like harping on my facial paralysis too often, I was recently thinking about how I could use my disability to my advantage as an actor. This way of thinking has not always come easily to me. Years earlier, just after I was signed to my talent agency, I was trying to think of ways to avoid having to use my disability, believing that it would be a crutch in finding employment. Actors with disabilities still find very little work in show business, and I was determined to show casting directors that I was more than my disability. However, when you go out for auditions, the casting directors will use what they see, and you only have two minutes (at best!) to showcase what you have to offer. In recent years, there have been more opportunities for actors with disabilities to be seen and heard, and I finally decided to work on finding ways to use my facial paralysis to my advantage.
One of the things that I’ve been wondering about is what it would be like to work in motion capture. In motion capture, sensors are attached to the face and body in order to record the actor’s movements and facial expressions to be used later in animating or enhancing specific characters. An argument could certainly be made that I’d be a poor choice for this performance technology, but then again, no one has ever tried to capture my expression in such a way, either. What would it be like for the technicians working with me if they found that a person with my facial paralysis actually had more going for me than they thought, especially given my many years of performance experience? The idea I’m playing around with is putting together an article called, “What Can You Learn from a Facial Paralysis?” At the very least, I can offer insights into different disabilities. At most, I might be called upon as a disability consultant in show business, though for various reasons that I won’t go into, that situation is fraught with peril, especially since many people with disabilities don’t get properly paid for their services in the industry.
Freedman on the Go 