Friendship Theatre: Federal Way’s most unique stage production

Director Sharon Boyle said when she first heard Madison Taylor sing, “I actually got chills just listening to her.”

Taylor was auditioning for Friendship Theatre, a production company through the City of Federal Way Parks and Recreation Department with a cast made up of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Taylor auditioned for Friendship Theatre for the first time in 2022 after only having the opportunity to do small chorus parts in school productions, with no chance to sing.

In that first audition, Boyle said that Taylor “blew me away with how she had already taken the character…you felt that character coming through right then and there in this first week of auditions.”

Taylor ended up playing Belle in that year’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” Taylor’s mother shared with Boyle that despite Taylor’s talent and the fact that “she had tried so hard at school when she was in the performances to try to get roles” she had been “overlooked, just because she has Down syndrome.”

At the end of the day, productions by Friendship Theatre aren’t too different from your typical musical production. Auditions begin in September and the performances are in June at the Knutsen Family Theater.

Some differences that do exist have become more subtle over time.

Boyle said that while the goal is for all actors to memorize their lines, for those that struggle more with this, volunteers including Boyle, will help prompt lines from the stage.

“In the beginning, I think it probably was more obvious,” Boyle said. These days, they are in character on the stage or find other ways to make the support subtle, like in a recent production of “Beauty and the Beast” where she said, “we’re one of the plates or something, so that we blend in.”

Although they do their best to let people know that the production might be a little different from a typical one, sometimes people buy tickets without realizing the uniqueness of the cast.

Boyle said after one production, where an audience member didn’t realize the details, they called her and told her, ‘I had the most fun I’ve ever had in play. I will be back every year.’

Another benefit to opportunity to show “community that just because you have a disability doesn’t mean this isn’t something that you can do.”

Boyle said when she worked as a coordinator for the Special Olympics with the Federal Way Public School district, she came into contact “with people that have not been around anybody with a disability.” This often looked like people being “wary at first” but “once they get to know that person then they see that they are just a person, just like everybody else.”

Opportunities to share a fun night of entertainment and enjoy seeing people share their passion is also an opportunity to build this inclusive community, Boyle said.

Auditions for the 2025 show will start in September and are a process of around two months to make final decisions on parts. Everyone who auditions will get the chance to be part of the cast in some way if they can make the nearly year-long commitment.

The 2025 production will be Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”. For those who are interested in learning how to participate or to purchase tickets in May, reach out to Sharon.Boyle@cityoffederalway.gov.