In Dec. 2010, Aaron Deede was in a car accident where he suffered T4 spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury that left him wheelchair bound. Before the accident, Deede was an award winning actor in high school and after the incident his dream of acting was in jeopardy.

That dream was saved when he met Christine Rouse.

Christine Rouse is the founder of Acting Without Boundaries (AWB), which is a theatre company for men, women and children with disabilities.

Deede has been with AWB since its inaugural show in 2004 and he, along with 19 other AWB actors, starred in Some Enchanted Evening, the Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein, on Sunday afternoon at the Haverford School.

AWB helps me keep my dream alive of being an actor, Deede said at the AWB Fundraiser, which took place at the Haverford School immediately after the show.

Deede was a busy man during the show as he serviced as a singer, actor, comedian and rapper. AWB Musical Director Maria Ceferatti began playing a ballad on her piano and it was greeted with a hip-hop beat that stunned the crowd.

Flipping off his top-hat and replacing it with a baseball cap that read M.C AWB, Deed began rapping, something he admits he had never done before this show.

Rapping was my favorite part of this performance, he said while giggling. Some Enchanted Evening was the 10th performance he has been acted in with AWB. It was unlike anything I have ever done before.

With a glowing smile on her face, Aarons mother, Anne Phillips, called the performance, magical.

It was wonderful, current and funny, she exclaimed of the troupes performance. Continued...

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Changing the perception of people with disabilities, one performance at a time

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