Skit Parallels Life for Actress Melody James

When Westporter Melody James hits the stage this week, she will portray a character she can truly empathize with.

During Play With Your Food's final production of the season, the Westport-based actress will perform a one-woman reading of Leslie Avayzian's Deaf Day, which is a poignant look at a mother's day with her hearing-impaired son.

For James, who is the mother of a deaf child, this portrayal is one which parallels her life. Her daughter, Caitlin Parton, had meningitis as an infant. Ultimately, Caitlin was one of the first children to receive cochlear implants, which are small, complex electronic devices that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing.

"This play hits close to home," James said. "I recognize the experience of trying to communicate to a child who cannot hear. Although the mother in the skit makes a different choice than I did, this is still a personal story for me."

In pursuing treatment for Caitlin's deafness, James and her husband, artist Steve Parton, simultaneously became strong champions and educators for the needs of the hearing impaired.

Advocating for Caitlin, James and Parton faced harsh criticism by members of the deaf community who argued that deafness was not a disability and that cochlear implants would only serve to make it so.

Across the country, about 2 million people — most of whom used American sign language to communicate with other deaf people  – were adamantly opposed to cochlear implant operations and requested the FDA withdraw its approval of cochlear implant use in children.

"We testified before Congress," James said. "There were people in the community who thought that hearing parents should not make choices for their deaf children."

The story has a happy ending. The operation was a success and Caitlin, now in her 20s, attended mainstream schools with the ability to speak and hear. "She has studied French and piano," James said.

At age 6, 60 Minutes aired a piece about Caitlin and the family's battle over cochlear implants. Profiled by Ed Bradley in 1992, the feature, "Caitlin's Story," won an Emmy and the family became international advocates for children with special needs. The story was revisited by Bradley in 1999 when Caitlin was 13 years old.

For nine years, James directed Public Education for the League for the Hard of Hearing in New York, co-creating Turning Points Workshops for teens and their parents. She also co-created Parent Advocacy Training, a national program for the A.G. Bell Association.

During the upcoming  Play With Your Food productions, James returns to her first passion, acting. In addition to Deaf Day, she will take on a second role, appearing in the comedic skit,  Laura Keene Goes On, written by Michael McKeever, about a theatrical diva who brings new meaning to "the show must go on" when President Lincoln gets shot during her performance.

Play With Your Food performances take place Tuesday, April 6, at the Fairfield Theatre Company, and April 13-15 at Toquet Hall in Westport. Audiences will be treated to five one-act plays from 12:30 -1:30 p.m., following a buffet lunch at noon.

Also during the program, Pulitzer prize winner David Auburn (Proof) will be represented by Miss You, a humorous bantering between a young dating couple; Domestic Violence by Fred Stroppel will review the impetus for marital discord;  and Thanks for the Memories by Academy Award winner Ted Tally (Silence of the Lambs) will offer viewers feel-good piece of theater.

Finishing up its eighth winter season, Play With Your Food features a lunch at noon, catered by Shelly's What Cooking Café at the Fairfield Theatre Company, and Garelick and Herbs in Westport at Toquet Hall, followed by the play readings and a short discussion with the actors. The program ends promptly at 1:30 p.m.

 All tickets are $42 and advance paid reservations are required. Order by calling the box office (203) 293-8831, Monday – Friday noon to 5 p.m. or visit www.playwithyourfood.org.

About Melody James

James, who graduated from Staples High School in 1964, was part of the Staples Players theater program under the tutelage of Craig Matheson and Steven Gilbert. "The Players program started while I was in high school and I absolutely loved it," she said. "It confirmed for me what I wanted to do."

Matheson and Gilbert, she said, provided the Players with a sense of tremendous pride and unity. "They created an experience that was a collaborative ensemble. They were instrumental in building a program that nurtured a love of theater and provided a team experience where we all worked together."

The Players' spirit of teamwork and cooperation continued to impact James' life choices. "During the late '60s and early '70s, I sought out an experience that was ensemble and collaborative," she said.

After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, she became a member of the Tony-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe, where she remained for 12 years. "I wanted to make theater where an ensemble cared about the content and I found the perfect match with the mime troupe," she said. "It was an activist movement to bring nontraditional theater outdoors. This was breaking ground for a lot of people, including Bill Irwin (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0410347/), who went on and formed other companies. "

James was part of the Obie-winning ensemble cast of Dragon Lady's Revenge, she also played principle roles in Brecht's The Mother, the title role in the U.S. premiere of Turandot, and San Francisco Mine Troupe's original plays False Promises, San Fran Scandals and The Great Air Robbery.

She returned east in 1979 and became a member of the New York City ensemble Modern Times Theater, with roles in Freedom Days, Caucasian Chalk Circle, and the world premiere of Hibakusha, a Love Story from Hiroshima by Steve Friedman. She directed a three-year school-wide residency for a Brooklyn public school. She has also performed in film In the King of Prussia directed by Emile de Antonio with Martin Sheen and the Berrigan Brothers. On TV, she was a principle in PBS' Transport of Delight directed by John Korty.

Locally, she became a teaching artist for Westport Country Playhouse in 2007, conducting pre-show children's workshops, "In the House" acting classes, and "Playmaking" for Norwalk teens, a program resulting in student-written short plays being performed by professionals at the Playhouse.

She directed the Horizons Theater Program at Greens Farms Academy introducing Bridgeport pre-teens to the wonders of Alice in Wonderland, and she directed the Time Travelers Program for Westport Historical Society in 2008. She also teaches Acting for Westport's Continuing Education.

A member of Actors Equity and AFTRA, she has taught acting, directing and playmaking for over 25 years to all ages, from Vassar College students to local nursery school children. She is an adjunct instructor at Housatanic Community College for the Theater program. As guest artist at Muhlenberg College for five years, she wrote and directed, Canaries and Sitting Ducks, bringing the production to Off Broadway; she also played the title role in Mother Courage, and directed productions from Strindberg to Mamet.

As an arts administrator in New York City, she co-created and directed five innovative citywide programs for ArtsConnection, a leading arts-in-education organization and national model facilitating hundreds of professional artists working with thousands of school children throughout the New York City school system.

Her father was Hal James, a Tony-Award-winning Broadway producer; her mother Florence was a casting director in radio and a co-founder of Saugatuck Nursery School.