Empathy and Down's Syndrome Part Two: Recommended Viewing
/A brief follow up to my last post. I want to strongly encourage you to check out a documentary titled "Curveball" by Philadelphia based director, actor and acting teacher Bryan Fox. The film follows a little league baseball team comprised of physically, mentally and emotionally challenged children. It is a well-crafted film that I found deeply inspiring, insightful and moving. On a personal note, I found the film to be life changing in how dramatically it altered my perspective.
http://www.curveballthemovie.com
And if you happen to be an actor in the Philadelphia area, you would be wise to seek out Bryan Fox as an acting teacher or coach. He is as good as it gets. His ability as a teacher knows no bounds, and he is just as good at acting and directing as he is at teaching and coaching. Obviously, I hold him in high regard and urge any and all Philadelphians to take advantage of the chance to study with him.
The final viewing recommendation is to watch this segment from the ESPN program "Outside the Lines". It is about Garrett Holeve, a young man with Down's Syndrome and his literal and metaphorical fight. It is a wonderful opportunity for the actor as viewer to be aware of when you are feeling sympathy as opposed to empathy with this young man and his family's choices. As I stated in the earlier post, empathy is the much better path for the actor to take. Here is the link to the 13 minute long video. I highly recommend it.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9091876