We know that ABLE is just as much a social outlet as a creative outlet. As we collaborate and share our ideas to build a show, we also build trusting, caring relationships among the whole ensemble. Today we’re highlighting just one of these friendships - read on to meet Marissa & Jenna!
Actor Marissa Bloodgood joined the ABLE community in 2012 when ABLE was still the teen drama troupe at Gigi’s Playhouse. ABLE performing arts programs have since more than tripled in size and scope to offer a wider variety of opportunities. Being a part of the caring ABLE community is Marissa’s favorite thing about our ensemble program. She says, “ABLE is a great community where no one is left out.”
Our volunteer facilitators are an important part of our ensemble - they work side by side with ABLE actors in rehearsals and performances to provide the individual support each person needs to thrive. Marissa met ABLE facilitator Jenna Rapisarda when she first started in 2017. The pair has worked together for several semesters including devised performances like Gems Unseen (2017) and Reconnect (2022) and adaptations like As You Like It (2019) and The Odyssey (2024), and digital projects as well. In that time, they have formed a creative partnership that adds meaning to their time in the ensemble. “Basically, Jenna and I are sisters ever since we were in the same ensemble,” Marissa says. “Jenna makes me laugh. She cracks me up and we have fun together. But in the serious moments, I sometimes get a little too excited. Jenna and I always get a fidget to play around with,”
Jenna adds, “Marissa is an integral part of my ABLE experience. She takes ownership of the stage, she's a performer and she's a dancer. It’s so fun to work with Marissa because she just really owns it and we just can have fun together.”
Supportive, caring relationships like Marissa and Jenna’s are vital, especially since the Former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared an epidemic of loneliness and isolation in the United States. For individuals with I/DD, that isolation can contribute to a regression of communication skills, early onset dementia, anxiety, and depression. ABLE’s neurodiverse ensembles provide a community that grows together and develops bonds inside and outside of the rehearsal room.
“Marissa and I have a good partnership,” Jenna says. “We have figured each other out and know how to work together really well. All these years later, we now have it down. We know what each other needs, and how to support each other in those moments. We know how to come together and make the work happen.”
