When people think of representation in theater, they always think of race and gender. People demand more roles for African Americans, Asians, women etc. When a white person does blackface or yellow face for a project, everyone online loses it. So, why can’t we do the same to disabled representation? A recent event in my area shows how cripface in theater is a common thing.

Late last year, it was announced that Washington, DC would have its first disabled theater called L'Enfant Rebelle Theatre. It was finally time for disabled actors to have the spotlight in one of America’s biggest theater districts. I was obsessed with it because through this theater, I could finally be a professional actress and have an acting career. I was even contemplating giving up my dream to work at Walt Disney World to stay in DC for a few years to act before moving to NYC for an acting career (which is something I’m still considering, by the way).

When the season was announced in March, I couldn’t be more excited! I mean, a summer musical (that was supposed to be Violet and I could have been Sutton Foster for a month) and an original musical that was supposed to be earlier next year? Sold! However, that was the last time anyone heard from them. There were no more postings after that. No casting calls or anything. Still today: Nothing.

Meanwhile. Maryland's first disabled theater, Open Circle Stage is reopening after a long hiatus. One of the reasons of its brief closing was because they wanted to help create L'Enfant Rebelle Theater. So, when I friended the director of OCS, Suzanne Richards on Facebook to introduce myself and apologize that I can't do their musical this year due to uncomfortable themes and disapproval of my parents, I figured that I could ask Richards what happened to LRT. What I found out from her made me sick.

It turns out that L'Enfant Rebelle's mission to support disability and disabled actors was pretty much a 100 percent lie. First, LRT barely acknowledged OCS and their works. But, it gets even worse. Richards soon discovered that they were hiring abled people for disabled roles because despite the mission, "they couldn't find any disabled actors." Furthermore, it was discovered that LRT did not had one disabled person in their board and jobs. When Richards found out all of this, she somehow shut down LRT before they, in her words, "started offended people."

Now, think about this: If this was happening to a black theatre where they were secretly hiring white actors for black roles, it would be all over the news and media. It would be a top Twitter trend and a top Facebook story. You would see it everywhere on your friend's walls. But, since this isn't a race, gender, or religion thing, nothing is going to happen. No news coverage, no trends etc. Nothing! So, shouldn't we care about disabled theatre?

Last week, my great disappointment about L’Enfant turned into sadness as I found out that I didn’t get into a community production of Shrek (The Musical). I was (and am still) confused. I gave great energy into my audition and I have a baby voice and face, which are perfect for playing a Duloc minion and a fairytale creature (they have elf and fairy characters in it). But yet, I didn’t get cast. Is it just because the cast is too tiny or am I too different, which would be contrary to the musical’s message of embracing being different? Seeing that most likely none of the actors that are cast are disabled gives me the impression that it’s the second answer.

Should there be more equal casting for disabled actors? See a girl in a wheelchair with a bunch of tap dancers in "Anything Goes?" See a boy with Down Syndrome in a show about "beauty?" Where are the theatre conservatories for disabled actors? Shouldn’t there be more chances for us to get into them too, along with the finest acting colleges? Because by not seeing in any disabled actors on the stage, it seems like we are not important enough to be shown. After all, all shows need to look "perfect."

If there have been black Phantoms, Cinderellas, Belles and a Filipino Maurice on Broadway, there needs to be a disabled Annie, Fanny Price, Alexander Hamilton, and Maria Von Trapp. The facts that there was a Broadway production of "Spring Awakening" with deaf actors and the first wheelchaired actor on Broadway and that an actress with muscular dystrophy will grace the Broadway stage with Sally Fields next year in “The Glass Menagerie” show that our time is coming. We shouldn't be limited to just disabled theaters, drama therapy, and acting clubs. We want to be seen, heard, and tell stories like everyone else. So, casting directors, producers, and directors, please care about us, disabled actors too!