In an effort to display their talents to directors and producers, local resident Otto Felix organizes a semi-annual variety show for members of HAPPI, an organization for disabled artists and performers. The last show of this year will take place at Malibu Stage Co. Theater Saturday.
By Troy Dove / Special to The Malibu Times
It’s been said you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than you have of becoming a star in Hollywood. Yet, given the odds, hundreds of people rush to California every year in hopes of being “discovered,” hoping for a chance to live the American Dream.
For disabled performers, the chances are slim that they will ever even be noticed, much less become a star. Disabled performers have considerably fewer opportunities than their able-bodied counterparts to ever have their talents showcased.
Malibu resident Otto Felix, founder and director of Handicapped Artists, Performers and Partners (HAPPI) and the Film Actors Shop Theater (FAST) has been helping to change that during the last 27 years.
Felix organizes a semi-annual variety show for members of HAPPI and FAST to give disabled performs a chance to perform before a live audience.
The final show of the year will take place Saturday at the Malibu Stage Co. Theatre in Malibu.
“This is one chance in a lifetime that a disabled person will have to perform in front of a live audience,” Felix said.
After the show there will be a wrap party where the performers will “have a chance to socialize with some directors and producers.”
Felix said he already knows of a few directors that will be in attendance at the Saturday performance.
“I know there’s going to be some top name directors there,” he said. “Rowdy Herrington will be there and Nick Castle, and they’ll see these people [the performers] and keep them in mind for a job down the road.”
Felix reminded that handicapped actors could play many current roles in film and television just as readily as able-bodied actors.
“A judge can be a guy in a wheelchair and a blind person can easily be someone who works the phone in a police station,” Felix said. “They’re more than capable of doing the job.”
The hour-long showcase will include five scenes consisting of four singers and one comedic actor.
“Almost all the scenes in this show have singing in them,” Felix said. “I try to change the shows every year so that they’re interesting, so you don’t see the same guy doing the same song every year.”
Since HAPPI is a coalition of handicapped performers and partners, HAPPI members will be paired with established actors and musicians to assist them in their scenes.
While the able-bodied partners change every year and from show to show, Felix said some of the performers in this show include songwriter/producer Larry Weiss, singer/songwriter Larry Dean and singer Creed Bratton, from The Grass Roots.
Following the show there will be a small awards ceremony to honor some of the HAPPI and FAST members who did outstanding work or had outstanding achievements during the past year.
Felix, an actor himself as well as a photographer, began hosting the annual variety shows almost three decades ago with one showcase a year. Three years ago, he made the event semi-annual, and began doing two shows a year.
“It all started when I was a disc jockey back East,” Felix said. “I met this guy in a wheelchair and he introduced me to all these really interesting people and I got hooked on helping disabled people in the industry.”
Felix said he felt he could use his position in the entertainment industry to try and help give disabled performs a chance to realize their dreams. He said his goal is to eventually found an agency that will represent disabled performers throughout the entertainment industry.
“There’s an agency that represents Asian actresses, an agency that represents athletes … there should be an agency that represents athletes, actors, musicians and singers that are disabled,” Felix said. “It’s something that’s been a long time in coming and needed in Hollywood for years.
“My goal is to start that for them.”
The HAPPI and FAST showcase will take place Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Malibu Stage Co. Theatre, 29243 Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Heathercliff Road. Hors d’oeuvres will be served at 7:30 p.m. with the show following at 8 p.m. and the post-show party begins around 9 p.m. A $20 donation for HAPPI is requested at the door. Seating is limited. More information can be obtained at the Web site www.ottofelix.com or the HAPPI Website at www.HAPPI-talent.com