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Defying Gravity

A car accident at age 11 left Marissa Bode with a spinal cord injury. This fall, she’ll fly through the air in her wheelchair in the movie adaptation of Wicked. 

November 2024
Ellen Song

Marissa has wanted to act since she was a young child. 

Marissa Bode started acting when she was 8 years old. She immediately fell in love with being onstage and bringing different characters to life. But when Marissa was 11, a car accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. After the accident, she needed to use a wheelchair to get around. Despite her injury, it never occurred to her to give up on her plan to become an actress. She wanted to keep doing what she loved.

After appearing in many productions, Marissa landed a dream role. She was cast as Nessarose, a character who uses a wheelchair, in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked. (The movie opens November 22.) Read on to learn more about what it’s like to do flying stunts in a wheelchair, and get Marissa’s advice for interacting with people with disabilities.

Marissa in character as Nessarose 

A Big Change

In 2011, Marissa’s mom was driving her to a rehearsal for a local production of American Girls Revue when they were hit by another car. Her mom suffered minor injuries, but Marissa’s spinal cord was damaged. After the accident, she still wanted to perform in the Revue, but she had to stay in the hospital for several more weeks as she recovered. 

The show’s directors made a few changes so that Marissa would still be able to appear in the show. For example, the production included a tap dance routine. “I thought we wouldn’t be able to do the routine anymore, but we ended up putting our hands into the shoes and doing the tap routine with our hands on a table,” says Marissa. “It was so cool!” 

The performance was staged in the hospital lobby, so patients who would not have been able to travel to a theater could attend. “It was special to be able to do this for the other kids in the hospital,” Marissa says. 

Marissa performs in the hospital.

The Importance of Accommodations 

Marissa realized that, with some accommodations, she could fulfill her dream of being an actress. “I’m really grateful to my American Girls Revue directors, who were the first people that really showed me how important it is to consider accessibility in a production,” Marissa says. “I also saw that including actors with disabilities can have a huge impact on the show and on the audience.” 

As Marissa continued acting, she sometimes struggled with accessibility issues. Many theaters had no ramp up to the stage, which made it difficult for her to get onstage in her wheelchair. Her dad bought a portable ramp to bring to her rehearsals. But the portable ramp had its own problems. “It was super steep,” Marissa recalls. “I would go down it really fast. It just wasn’t very safe.” She learned to advocate for what she needed to feel safe and comfortable.

Wicked also stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

A Dream Role

In 2022, Marissa was cast as Nessarose in the movie version of Wicked. Nessarose is the younger sister of the Wicked Witch of the West. The character was born without the use of her legs. The actors playing Nessarose have always used a wheelchair onstage in productions of the show, but Marissa’s performance is groundbreaking. It will be the first time that Nessarose is being played by an actor who uses a wheelchair in real life. 

After Marissa got the role of Nessarose, the production team for Wicked made the set accessible for her. They hired an expert who also uses a wheelchair to advise them on what kind of changes Marissa would need. In addition to ramps wherever there were stairs, her trailer had countertops, cabinets, and tables that could be raised and lowered with a button to reach the height of a person in a wheelchair. 

One of Marissa’s favorite moments in the film is a scene in which Nessarose flies through the air in her chair. To shoot the scene, Marissa’s wheelchair was attached to a wire. The filmmakers made sure she felt safe as she rose into the air. “I was like, ‘Please, speed this up! This is so much fun!’” says Marissa. “I loved it so much that I ended up doing my own stunts, even though a stunt double was available.” 

Playing Nessarose

Marissa believes it’s important for characters with disabilities to be played by actors with disabilities. “As someone who’s actually lived the disabled experience, I think my perspective adds a deeper layer to Nessarose’s character,” she says.  

To get into character, Marissa kept a journal in Nessarose’s voice. She wrote about experiences she had in real life, like getting dressed for an event, but imagined them from Nessarose’s point of view. 

Respecting Preferred Terms

You may have noticed that Marissa sometimes refers to herself as “disabled.” Some people with disabilities use this word to describe themselves. Others call themselves “a person with a disability.” Or they might use both terms or use a different term entirely. It’s important to describe people using the language they prefer. Not sure what words to use? Just ask!

Plans for the Future

Marissa is excited for audiences to see Wicked. She’s also looking forward to more opportunities to play a range of characters on the stage and screen. She’d love the chance to work with other writers and actors with disabilities. She hopes more people with disabilities get cast in movies and TV shows in the future. “It’s really important to include disabled people in storylines as regular people,” she says. “There are so many wonderful, talented, and creative disabled people out there. We just need to be included more.” 

Marissa’s Do’s and Don’ts for Interacting With People With Disabilities

DO:

  • Acknowledge their disability.
  • Ask them if they need any accommodations.
  • Be an ally, and advocate for them if they tell you they need accommodations.

DON'T:

  • Pretend that their disability doesn’t exist.
  • Make assumptions about what the disabled person needs.
  • Make jokes about their disability unless they have specifically told you it’s OK.

Social-Emotional Learning
Empathy, Social Skills

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