Ask Andrew if he enjoys the applause he receives after a performance and you’ll get to see his face light up. Andrew, who lives in an integrated community living home supported by JCFS Chicago, has been acting for several years, most recently as Dr. Frankenstein in a production with A.B.L.E.—Artists Breaking Limits & Expectations.

Andrew says he loves acting, especially when his friends and family are in the audience.

“It really was encouraging,” said his mom, Catherine, when Andrew’s roommates attended one of his performances.

Aside from the applause, acting has increased Andrew’s communication, helped him with regulating his behavior and improved his focus, Catherine said.

“The theater has just been great,” she said. "It’s really given him a lot of confidence, friendships and support.”

Andrew has been acting since he was in high school, and he is part of the original ensemble of A.B.L.E., which grew out of GiGi’s Playhouse. A.B.L.E. strives to be a model for meaningful, accessible, and inclusive theatre in Chicago and beyond.

A.B.L.E. produced its punk rock adaptation of Frankenstein last spring at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and again in October at Theater Wit. Teaching Artist Lawrence Kern, who helped co-write Frankenstein, partnered with Andrew onstage during performances.

Lawrence has helped Andrew work through audience jitters by communicating with him on stage and doing bits with him for the audience.

“The audience participation is something he responds so well to,” Lawrence said, adding that Andrew enjoys getting a good laugh. “He loves the characters he plays, but he also wants to get it right and do a really good job. It’s so important to him.”

Lawrence has been coaching Andrew in acting since 2010, when he taught a sword-fighting class to the A.B.L.E. actors in preparation for a performance of Romeo and Juliet.

“I immediately warmed up to Andrew,” Lawrence said. “He’s such a kind soul.”

By working with Andrew for so long, Lawrence has gained insight into his character.

“He cares about everybody so deeply, and friendship is so important to him,” Lawrence said. “He makes sure he gets to touch base with important people that are in rehearsal every day—that’s such a key part of Andrew.”

Andrew’s love of the arts doesn’t end with theater—his artistic talents are also evident on canvas. He has created paintings that have raised up to $5,000 for fundraisers, Catherine said.

“He’s not just doing art for art’s sake but understanding his own disability and how he has certain rights as an individual,” she said.

Registered Expressive Art Therapist Kurt Fondriest combines history lessons with his art classes, which Andrew has been attending once a week since he was 14 years old.

“I witness the power of expressive arts within individuals living with both intellectual and physical disabilities,” Kurt said. “My style of expressive education teaches first history to a population for whom the subject is so often ignored.”

Andrew has learned about Rosa Parks and Anne Frank, and he and Kurt will also go out into the community to take photos and look at nature and bring that inspiration back to the studio.

Andrew has participated in art shows, including one with Kurt at the Green Leaf Art Center in Chicago. And once again, his roommates have shown up and attended his shows to support Andrew’s passion for the arts.

Lawrence said art programs give young adults with disabilities a place to connect socially and receive positive feedback from the community.

“To have a chance to continue to play onstage and have ownership of some sort of artistic endeavor is very important for them,” he said. “They take it very seriously as something that’s their own.”