What Do You Have to Lose?

By: LaQuantis Morton

Being able to act in the play Sitting Pretty was an honor and a wonderful experience. From my lines/words, I learned a lot from Rebekah Taussig. She gave me new pictures to reimagine my life living with a disability. She was being vulnerable and her words educated me about the medical and social models of disability.

Preparing for this play was intense. I would wake up at 4:00 am to catch a paratransit bus at 6:30 am. Then, I would take a 7:17am train from Boynton Beach to arrive at the Miami Airport station around 9:00 am. I would then catch an Uber to be at rehearsal by 10:00 am.

I acted in high school once, but I had no formal training, and I truly amazed myself. Oh, for hyperactive butterflies. Lol. I always had to have something crunchy to eat during rehearsals, and that helped calm my nerves to prepare for our performances. Theater is always changing, like life. But I loved it! I learned a lot during preparation, up to the performance and after.

I didn’t get everything done correctly, but I exceeded my expectations and I met some amazing ladies in the cast, who I now call my angels. I am grateful to Phillip Church and his team, who brought us all together to bring Rebekah Taussig’s book to the theater.

In Sitting Pretty, Rebekah mentions there were no stories for her growing up. That statement helped me to confront my own mental blocks about writing. For me, it was a God wink, telling me to finish my children’s story, because stories are powerful. You

have nothing to lose!