Tathiana Piancastelli and the cast Rehearsing for the Play "Apple Of My Eye"!

Sound and Light technicians get ready for the final rehearsals.

Lightning is a very important aspect of this love story with a deeper concept. So setting the perfect light is a big part of the show.

Tathiana brings the script with her everywhere. 

The play "Apple Of My Eye" was written by Tathiana Piancastelli, a 29 years old Brazilian woman who lives in New Jersey now and has Down Syndrome. Since she was born her family worked hard to include her in everything so she had a normal life, working, studying, etc. She is very well known in Brazil and extremely talented. One day she decided that she wanted to be an actress and so she did. 

Tathiana with director Debora Barladini,who is the owner of the Nettles Artists Collective, a physical theater company based in NYC. They discuss the final details of the play.

The cast arrives early and chills while the final touches on sound and lightning are done.

Sandie Luna, who co-owner of the company along with Debora tells the cast what is going to happen that day. 

Tathiana is very close to her family. Her mom is her big supporter and fan! In this picture Tathiana is trying to call her but there is poor cellphone connection inside the theater. She wonders if she should go outside.

The cast hangs out and try to have fun while waiting. The wait was long but they get along really well so killing time wasn't difficult at all. 

Tathiana is really excited about the premiere and shows me the dress she picked for her character "Bela".

From actors to production assistant, everyone is really involved and doing their best to make "Apple Of My Eye" a huge success. Press from all over the place is interested in covering the premiere and Tathiana is extremely anxious and excited about it!

Tathiana is very focused on her work and loves to goof around with her friends during breaks. They are like a big family! In this picture she is offering free massage sessions!

 In "Apple of My Eye" Tathiana plays Bella and her character finds herself kissing two other characters in the play. Tathiana feels very comfortable kissing on stage.

And action! They are finally getting ready to start rehousing the play!

The scenes with Tathiana cause a big impact and makes us think about how we see the world and what we think of ourselves. Very powerful. 

All the actors perform in Portuguese and there is subtitle in english simultaneously! 

While waiting for her  scene, Tathiana chills out with her colleague and watch the other actors perform.

The rehearsal only finished around 11pm and Tathiana never stopped smiling and giving her best!