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Teal Sherer |
Picture an extremely
crowded restaurant. Tables are lined up without room to spare, leaving the
smallest paths to pass. Now imagine running a few minutes late to meet a blind
date. You enter this restaurant and see him at a faraway table. The goal, of course,
is to make it to that table in a nonchalant yet confident manner. Sounds easy
enough, right?
In the episode titled “Crowded,”
from season one of “My Gimpy Life,” Teal is this woman at the restaurant. The
star of the web sitcom doesn’t want to stand out, however she must ask most of
the restaurant diners to move their chairs so that she can get through…with her
wheelchair.
“Excuse me!”
“Sorry!”
“Can you move in a
little, please?”
Can you relate? I know
I can! While watching this episode last year, I nodded and laughed at this and many
other awkward scenarios Teal found herself in, and my reaction continued
throughout the remainder of the season.
For those who have not yet watched, “My
Gimpy Life” is an online comedy series about the awkward situations star and
creator Teal Sherer has encountered in Hollywood as an actor with a disability.
As Teal explains, “A lot of the first season of ‘My Gimpy Life’ is based on my
real life experiences, like the alley audition or the time a stranger asked me
an extremely personal question in a bank parking lot. We start with those
moments and then create characters and stories to heighten them. In real life,
I generally avoid confrontation and brush those things off, but that wouldn’t
make a very interesting show. There’s plenty of my real life in Season Two,
even if it’s something mundane like getting dressed to go out, but this season
Gabe Uhr (series writer and producer) and I started exploring the relationships
between fictional characters. I don’t have a roommate or a circus boyfriend so
a lot more is made up this time around, but there are still real, relatable
moments.”
Teal’s character of the same name definitely does not shy away from situations that may be
uncomfortable, and that unapologetic, sarcastic humor is part of what makes the
characters and show both appealing and highly memorable. It’s not surprising
that some of Teal’s favorite comedians include Sarah Silverman, Tina Fey and
Chelsea Handler. Their comedic styles are definitely similar. For example, in
one of Teal’s favorite episodes from season one, “Inspirational,” Felicia tells
Teal to break a leg, and then Teal says, “Good one bitch.” I’m sure many
mobileWOMEN here have been in a situation where you’ve wanted to react as Teal
does here, and so watching her respond this way makes the viewer smile and
laugh. You really want to high five Teal, as if to say, “I’ve been wanting to
say that for years. Thank you!”
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But
how did Teal get the idea to create this groundbreaking, buzz-worthy series?
Says Teal, “Being in Felicia Day’s groundbreaking web series ‘The Guild’
definitely influenced me to want to create a show of my own. I’m not a writer,
so Felicia recommended that I meet with a comedy writer named Gabe Uhr. We
immediately hit it off and ‘My Gimpy Life’ was born. First and foremost,
we want our viewers to be entertained. The comedy and drama are very important
to us. As a disability advocate, I want to share my perspective and
broaden people’s minds. Disabled people are out in the real world, but we’re
underrepresented in films and on TV. I want producers and casting people to
consider disabled actors for any role, not just ones that are written as
disabled characters, like teacher, best friend, scientist, or whatever. The
stories don’t necessarily have to revolve around disability for those
characters to exist.”
Teal’s first experience on stage,
actually, proved that actors with disabilities can fill any role. She explains, “I started acting in college at
Oglethorpe University. I had to take a theatre class as part of my
Communications major and fell in love. My theatre professor, Troy Dwyer, was so
supportive and encouraging. He cast me in my first play, ‘The House of Bernarda
Alba,’ playing a character that wasn’t written to be disabled. It didn’t
matter. I’ve been acting ever since.”
Indeed Teal has staked
her claim in the acting world. In 2004 she was cast in HBO’s Emmy Award-winning
“Warm Springs” starring Kenneth Branagh. She also appeared on stage with Dustin
Hoffman, James Cromwell, Annette Bening, and Richard Schiff in “American
Voices” at the Broad Theater in Santa Monica. In addition, Teal
produced and starred in the Pulitzer Prize winning play “Proof,” as the
first person with a disability to play the lead role of Catherine. These
credits are merely a few from Teal’s impressive list of professional accomplishments.
At
age 14, when Teal was paralyzed in a car accident, she tried to look toward the
future with a positive perspective throughout her rehab at Shepherd Center.
While at that pivotal stage in her life, Teal may not have visualized her
future as being in the spotlight, highlighting the humor that exists in
everyday life, regardless of your challenges, but clearly she carved out a path
to this unique position. Teal advises those who may be dealing with a new
injury, “Be patient, take it day by day, and know that it will get
better. Also, be thankful for the good things. Life could always be worse and
we often fail to appreciate all of the positive things, even the little ones.”
Teal can certainly speak of “the good
things” at this prosperous time in her blossoming career. Season two of “My
Gimpy Life” is in full swing. This season delivers hilarious comedic moments,
much like the preceding year, but there are also new developments in store. The
Nashville resident says, “Expect more of my roommate Brent, the ‘Other Teal,’
and Brian is also back so we can explore my love life. By the end of the season
there’s also a pretty big shift in Teal’s acting career. We’ve also added
some super talented new guest stars to the show, like Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers), Mitch Silpa (Bridesmaids), Geri Jewell (Deadwood, Facts of Life), David Barton Harris (Disaster Date), and Carlos Knight (Supah Ninjas). Sandeep Parikh
and Robin Thorsen from The Guild
will also be in an episode.”
You can watch the first three episodes
of Season Two on the “My Gimpy Life” YouTube Channel, and the season finale
will be out later this week. And if you need to catch up on Season One, you’ll
find that on their channel as well: youtube.com/MyGimpyLife.
For more information and to follow the series, visit Facebook and like “My Gimpy Life” and check out www.mygimpylife.com. For more about Teal Sherer, visit www.TealSherer.com.
Updated note: "My Gimpy Life" lands on Facebook October 1st (with captioning, of course). For more information, visit www.facebook.com/MyGimpyLife?fref=ts.
Updated note: "My Gimpy Life" lands on Facebook October 1st (with captioning, of course). For more information, visit www.facebook.com/MyGimpyLife?fref=ts.
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Looks like a great time and certainly brought back some fun memories!. Glad you enjoyed it too.
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