Mélange Accessibility for All Magazine April 2021 | Page 54

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Another major project was , “ Weiner Dog ,” a social satire film that premiered at Sundance in which Connor portrayed a young married man living in the community .
More recently Connor was the host for a tongue-in-cheek series of videos on “ Disability Etiquette — How to be a good __ for a person with disabilities ,” produced by Phamaly Theatre Company in Denver .
With all of these accolades and awards , Connor is recognized as a viable actor in Hollywood . And one award may just stand out above all the rest – The Emmy ! Connor says receiving a regional Emmy was not on his bucket list , but he was happy to have earned one , joining his friend and colleague , Hanna Atkinson , in becoming the first known people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to win a regional Emmy award ! This opportunity came from a joint initiative between Special Olympics Colorado and Denver ’ s ABC news affiliate , KMGH / The Denver Channel /
Denver ABC7 where he reported just about weekly on the people and programs of Special Olympics Colorado ( SOCO ). It was a very popular show and grew to cover other events and organizations besides Special Olympics . “ We produced about 32 episodes and won the Heartland Emmy for a yearin-review compilation special that covered some the of the project ’ s most impactful stories .” You can see these episodes on Connor ’ s YouTube channel .
So , what is Connor working on these days ? Well , COVID has impacted everyone but it also opened new opportunities such as qualifying for the US Down Syndrome Swimming national team where Connor hopes to earn a spot on the travel team for international competition . A number of events were canceled , so now Connor is working toward qualifying with the US Down Syndrome Swimming national team for the Down Syndrome International Swimming Organization ( DSISO ) world championships in Portugal in 2022 . The team members across the country meet weekly on Zoom to share exercise tips and to keep in touch .
In the meantime , Connor hopes to find a flexible restaurant job once it is safer post-Covid . He is very interested to attend culinary school and continue studying acting . And , once the weather is warmer , you will find Connor riding his bike and doing physical therapy using telehealth technology . He ’ s currently participating in a remote exercise research project through the University of Nevada Las Vegas ’ ( UNLV ) Physical Therapy Department . The program will help improve opportunities for adults with Down syndrome to stay active and healthy by participating in intensive workouts three times a week while being monitored for heart rates , respiration , etc . He also has an essay being published this year in the academic book , “ At the Intersection of Disability and Drama : A Critical Anthology of New Plays .” His essay is , “ A Performer ’ s Monologue ” and he will be staging and filming a live performance of the essay with the goal of submitting it to film festivals .
Connor and his father strongly believe that actors with disabilities should be cast in roles that call for a person with a disability , not cast by people who only portray people with disabilities . And they also feel that people with disabilities should be cast into roles where “ disability ” is irrelevant to the story – so , disability is normalized and not “ the story .” Both Connor