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News & Stories
from your friends at PHAME Academy

Now, More Than Ever

A note from our Executive Director

Five people wearing casual clothing and smiling together in front of a wooden wall covered with drawings of flowers on paper.

Now, more than ever, it’s critical for disability-serving arts organizations like PHAME to thrive. Self-expression has come to the forefront in American culture, with social media leveling the playing field in many ways. Everything from podcasts to art pop-ups creates opportunities for the personal to become public. As these creative platforms grow and gain even more traction in our social landscape, it is vital that diverse voices are heard—especially as we continue to learn firsthand how the voices of individuals can shape and change our world.

With this in mind, our work at PHAME is anchored in the amplification of student voices and stories—with microphones and pens, charcoal and pastels, movement and conversations. Students share their stories and we crank up the volume. Over the next year we’ll be teaching more of the 21st century skills our students want to learn—like voice-over acting and documentary filmmaking. These skills are useful and transferable, as well as straight up fun.

Part of the work of amplifying student voices is finding public platforms for their artistry, and so we’re also planning more performances out in the community, including guest appearances at First Thursdays in the Pearl and a collaboration with Portland Parks. Public performances put our students’ many talents in the spotlight, and are opportunities to overturn the low expectations that many still have about people with disabilities.

We hope you enjoy the news and stories we’ve put together for you in this newsletter. It’s a great time for PHAME—we have exciting new classes, high enrollment numbers, and a growing set of arts partnerships. And we have a passionate and committed community that shares our vision of a world where everyone is included—where everyone’s voice matters. Thank you for being a part of this community. Thanks for sharing the joy, the excellence, and the possibilities with us.

—Jenny R. Stadler, Ph.D.

Moonlit Crystals

Line of people playing drums, the young man in front has his tongue out in concentration.

Group of people of varying ages and ethnicities stand together smiling

Young dark haired woman holds a microphone to her face.

Three people gather around a piano where a man with curly brown hair sits, he shakes hands with one of them.

by PHAME student Kate Ehlen

I looked in your eyes and
they were moonlight piercing
the darkness unlike sunshine
unlike the burning you feel
when you get too close to
something fake I looked into
your moonlight eyes and I
saw pools of blue waterfall
crystals

Fall Term School Stats

• Percentage of students who re-enrolled from Spring Term: 93%
• Enrolled students: 103
• New students: 19
• Classes offered: 25
• Program capacity: 95%
• Tuition assistance awarded: $10,700

Teaching Artist Spotlight:

Jude Brewer

Stylish young man with plaid shirt, glasses, and a long on the top, short on the bottom haircut poses in a play-sad manner.

Jude is an award-winning author, actor, screenwriter and sound engineer, and is the creator of the Storytellers Telling Stories podcast. We’re thrilled to have him teaching Creative Writing with us this term!

“From my years as a young adult, and well into adulthood, I’ve had very few writing mentors who encouraged my creative pursuits, but the ones who were there really kept me going when things seemed bleak. School never came easy for me, and most teachers felt lost when it came to keeping me engaged. Every week I teach, I am reminded of how important those mentors were to me, and it’s surprising to find myself in a mentorship role. I still very much consider myself a student of the craft, continually evolving, and I’ve learned a great deal these past six weeks. I’ve learned that my years of struggling have prepared me for recognizing those same struggles in others, and when it comes to writing, the biggest struggle is identifying your unique voice and then honing that voice, especially when the outside world seems hellbent on developing your voice for you. Language is slippery, with rules that are meant to be broken. And once we’ve learned those rules and honed our voices, we can harness them to tell stories in ways that no one else could otherwise. This is why I teach for PHAME. We make small ripples on our own, and we make great waves as one.”

—Jude Brewer

New Class Spotlight:

Ballet

PHAME student Kyle assisting at a performance by OBT dancers.

We are excited to be offering our first ballet class taught by Oregon Ballet Theatre this term. This introductory class teaches the basics of ballet and helps students explore their own movement potential through individual and group dance techniques. Sarah Brown, the instructor for this class and a teaching artist from OBT, tells us, “The dancers are learning so much ballet! Together we work hard and have LOTS of fun!” Ballet will be taught again in Winter Term—it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship between PHAME and OBT!

“We are doing the steps and learning how to do up over our heads, and we do the twists and all those moves in a ballet. [It’s] really slow but we do it in a smooth way. I like the teacher, she’s really cool . . . it’s good for your body to move!”

—Ballet student Kaaren Londahl

New Student Spotlight:

Luam

Rob Smith, our Director of Community Engagement, and Tanya Bell, our Social Resource Coordinator, sat down with new student Luam. to talk about her experiences joining PHAME. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

RS – Luam, as a new student, what has been your favorite aspect of PHAME so far?

LY – I would say the people and the relationships. Like, how the teacher teaches the class and asks if you need help with something.

TB – What classes are you taking this term?

A photo by Luam taken with an A900 Coolpix camera.

LY – Photography and iPad Music.

RS – What have you discovered?

LY – I’ve discovered far away pictures . . . there’s different ways you can take different pictures. And to learn how to zoom in—because on a phone you can’t zoom in.

RS – PHAME brings together groups of people who all share the same experience of having a disability. Is being around a big group of people who all have disabilities a new experience for you?

LY – Yes, because I went to school but we were all split up. So now it’s stronger. [Being here] has been awesome. Like really awesome.

RS – If you met someone who was nervous about joining PHAME, what would you tell them about your experience here that might make them want to join?

LY – Give it a try. Everybody is different in different ways. The teachers will respect you. Just give it some time. Because everyone is new [at some point], nobody is perfect. Perfect’s not anything.

Upcoming Events

Large group of people of varrying ages standing and sitting together in a group on a stage, one person has a microphone.

Winter Concert

Wednesday, December 18, 2019, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Alberta Abbey
126 Northeast Alberta Street, Portland

We’re putting together an exciting show in collaboration with CymaSpace, whose mission is to make the performing arts more accessible and inclusive to Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. Join us in singing and signing along with your favorite rock, pop and musical theatre songs!

Sliding scale pricing from $5 to $15. Tickets available at the door or in advance.

PHAMEtastic 2020: The Art of Giving

Sunday, March 8, 2020, 5:00 - 9:00 pm
Hilton Portland Downtown
921 Southwest 6th Avenue, Portland

Enjoy our annual gala dinner, bidding on fabulous auction packages, and supporting artists with developmental disabilities—all while you’re treated to outstanding performances.

Tickets and information available on our event page.