Ask fifth grader Jeb Carter what he likes best about acting, and he has a hard time pinpointing just one thing.
“I don’t know where to begin,” said Carter. “It’s just so cool to be on stage.”
Once the Morris Brandon student was bitten by the acting bug a few years ago, he began taking after-school classes in singing, auditioning and theater history. He performed in skits and shows staged for parents, but a few weeks ago, he made his professional debut in the company of “The Music Man” at Fabrefaction Theatre Company. Carter played Winthrop, a character made famous in the movie by a very young Ron Howard, who comes out of his shell to belt out a key chorus of the “Wells Fargo” song.
For Carter, the journey to a professional stage required more than taking lessons and rehearsing. The 11-year-old also fights a daily battle against Tourette Syndrome, an illness identified by involuntary physical and vocal tics. Carter was officially diagnosed with Tourette’s in the third grade.
“We started noticing tics in kindergarten, which is pretty typical,” said mom Christine Carter. “Since he was diagnosed, we’ve accepted it and made it something he’s very comfortable talking about. At the beginning of every school year, he does a little presentation to the class so people won’t ‘shush’ him. He really has taken on a self-advocacy so people understand it and are at ease.”
On stage, Jeb Carter is no different from the other performers, said his mom.
“Tourette’s is a little bit unpredictable, but when he’s on the stage, he seems to be in his element,” she said. “When he’s busy singing, dancing and delivering his lines, only the people really close to him can catch a glimpse of it.”
Christina Hoff, Fabrefaction’s founding artistic director who is orchestrating “The Music Man,” recalled learning about Carter’s condition when she first met him last summer.
“He was too scared and shy to tell us about his condition,” she said. “This caused him a lot of anxiety, and his family realized that the best thing for him to do was tell everyone up front. We fully support this and have built in time at auditions and first rehearsals to make this happen.”
The entire cast and crew has become sensitive to Carter’s condition, added Hoff.
“Nerves and stress seem to cause his tics to flare up, so we do everything we can to constantly reassure him,” she said. “We have learned to help him breathe, and that a pat on the back can help more than any medicine."
Jeb believes that being part of Fabrefaction has helped him handle his condition more adroitly.
“Acting really helps me,” he said. “At Fabrefaction, everyone likes each other and respects each other; we feel like a family. I look forward to going to rehearsals. The people there are so nice and talented, it’s hard to make a mistake.”
Acting has also given the young performer an edge in other areas of his life.
“I have two sisters, lots of friends and a lot of after-school activities, but if I’m ever bored, I can always look over my lines,” he said with a laugh. “I have lots of stories about my shows to tell my friends. And what I’ve learned to do on stage also helps me to do things when I’m not acting -- like doing dance moves helps me take the soccer ball away from someone on the field.”
Offstage, Jeb plays tennis, soccer, basketball and piano. His best subject is social studies, but despite his other interests, he sees acting playing a big part in his future.
“I really feel that my talents and passions are in acting,” he said. “As I get older, I think I’m going to keep doing it because, with each show, I only get better and better.”
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