"After high school was done, my son started living his own life.” -a wise mom
Aaron withdrew from his last year of high school on the very same day he submitted an audition tape for a movie called Chicken.
He ended up getting the lead role! Here he is on set with actor Nathan Kay and director, co-star and writer Lucy McNulty
You can call this energy (when one door closes) or serendipity or luck or fate.
I know this is a testament to Aaron’s hard work these past three years. He’s been apprenticing to be an actor with the support of many people, like his acting coach, Lane Edwards, his agent Lena Lees-Haidt at Play, the Down Syndrome Resource Foundation (Cassie, Danielle, Eleanor, Susan and Liv), Neworld Theatre and Vancouver TheatreSports. And now we can add the Chicken cast and crew to this list.
He never gave up, even when he didn't get parts, even when auditions dried up with COVID.
For families with younger kids: there is life beyond school. And what comes out of the so-called Down syndrome ‘stubbornness?’
A strong sense of self, grit + perseverance.
Aaron might not have had a high school graduation, but y’all are invited instead to the Chicken movie premiere next year. 🐓 💫