Freecia reflects on finding a community through theater, building self-confidence and incorporating his wheelchair into his performances as lead role Jonathan Larson in ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ at Talking Horse Productions
“Why would they want to hear my voice singing, and why would they want the guy in the wheelchair to do a bunch of songs and dance on our tiny stage?”
In the mind of high schooler Luca Freccia, he believed that he shouldn’t audition for the school play as a first-year student, figuring no one would want to hear his voice. Now a fifth-year theatre major at the University of Missouri, Luca Freccia is doing exactly that: singing, dancing and making his wheelchair a part of his onstage roles.
He looks back humorously on that moment from his first year in high school. “That was when the self-consciousness set in, and I was like, ‘Oh, my singing was just terrible,’” Freccia said.
Throughout the month of October, Freccia starred in the lead role of Jon in the musical “Tick, Tick… Boom!” at Talking Horse Productions, a local black box theater in downtown Columbia.
The semi-autobiographical musical by playwright Jonathan Larson increased in popularity after the release of the 2021 Netflix film adaptation, starring Andrew Garfield. However, unlike Larson and Garfield, Freccia uses a wheelchair. Freccia was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, or AMC. The condition causes stiffness in various joints, which can result in muscle weakness throughout the body and a reduction in fine motor skills.
His disability is never something he hopes to disguise from the audience. “I in no way try to ever ignore the fact of the situation; I do everything I can to incorporate it,” Freccia said.
Yet, it’s often something he has to advocate for. Directors in the past have often been reluctant to allow him to creatively embrace the role of his wheelchair into shows.
“People can be so scared of doing something wrong when working with a person with a disability. They’re afraid to offend [and] push it too far. I feel like that has inhibited me sometimes before and kept me from being fully allowed to show myself in my fullest as a performer.”
– Luca Freccia
However, Freccia’s director Russ Scott and castmates Adriana Diaz and Alex Kirby were nothing but “open and receptive” to experimentation. “Tick, Tick… Boom!” at Talking Horse Productions featured a small, three-person cast inside the intimate venue.
“Because it’s a show that’s as minimalistic as it is, it allowed a lot more time for play,” Freccia said. “Like, ‘oh, wouldn’t it be funny if you rode on the back of my chair? Would it be funny if during this part of the song, you sat in your own chair and I dragged you around?’”
That’s exactly what they did. In one song, Freccia, as his character Jon, “drives” his wheelchair like a car while Kirby, as his character Michael, holds onto the back and rides along in a rolling chair.
These antics garnered a positive response from the audience. “A friend of mine saw the show, and they told me it was incredible, that this was the first show [they’ve] seen [me] in where they fully allowed [me] to incorporate the fact that you were in the wheelchair as a part of the character,” Freccia said. “That was a very special thing to hear because that’s something I try so hard to do in the shows that I do, and [Tick, Tick… Boom!] has given me the freedom to do that in a lot of ways.”
Freccia’s life almost went in a different direction; although he was introduced to plays and musicals in high school, he never believed it was something he could make into a career. He intended to major in journalism at MU, but after taking a musical theatre class in his junior year, he reconnected with his love for the art.
“It was just so fun being back in that space,” Freccia said. “And it was so inspiring to see other people my age have that drive for performance and that passion, and see them on stage performing every night.”
Rediscovering his spark, Freccia auditioned last year for the MU fall musical, “Something Rotten!” To his disbelief, he got the lead role. His involvement in the show changed his career goals, and he switched to a major in theatre.
“I went through that show, [and] I was really, really proud of my performance,” Freccia said. “And ever since then, I’ve been doing as many shows as I can around here and around town. Eventually that led to ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’”
Coming a long way from the performer he was in high school, Freccia has grown in both skill and confidence. He expects to graduate from MU this spring and hopes to audition into an MFA acting program. Freccia still experiences some doubt about his future, especially as an actor with a disability in an industry that can be “competitive and cutthroat.” However, he feels lucky to have been uplifted by the encouragement of his peers.
“I have been surrounded by so many people that don’t see through the disability, but they see me, and all of the parts of me that make me,” Freccia said.
This continued support and inspiration he’s taken from his fellow actors is what impacted him most throughout his theater journey.
“It’s so special to meet people who are not only unbelievably talented but humble enough to build up the people that are around them,” Freccia said. “The lifelong friends that I’ve made have done nothing from day one but support me and remind me of my worth, not only as a performer, but as a person.”
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