The 33-year-old actress is starring in Lindsey Ferrentino's 'Amy and the Orphan.'
Jamie Brewer, of American Horror Story fame, is making strides for people with Down syndrome as she prepares for her debut as the lead in an off-Broadway play.
The 33-year-old actress, who stars as Amy in Lindsey Ferrentino’s "Amy and the Orphans," is believed to be the first actor with Down syndrome to play a lead role on the big stage.
"People with disabilities and Down syndrome, we need to find a way to show you who we are," Brewer told InsideEdition.com. "One of the ways I have, I love, is the arts."
In the play, her character Amy reunites with her two siblings after their father’s death and the trio embark in a family road trip.
While "Amy and the Orphans" first hit the stage earlier this year, Brewer said she has been involved in the production since its conception as a thesis project at the Yale School of Drama.
Because of Brewer’s involvement, the final character and script, Brewer said, is written with her in mind.
"A lot of my advocacy platform is within the play and what hits home is the monologue at the very end because they are all movie quotes — movie lines — so it’s truly amazing," Brewer said. "Like, 'No one puts baby in the corner,' it means don’t shut out who we are. Give us a voice. Let us show you who we are."
Although she is no stranger to the spotlight — she appears as a central character in multiple seasons of American Horror Story and is the first person with Down syndrome to walk the runway at New York Fashion Week — Brewer said the stage is a little different.
"In [the television] industry, the audience is behind the camera, meaning the audience is at home," she explained. "Whereas theater, they are in front of you, and if you mess up, work through it. You can't stop."
While she said she prepares for her roles just like any other actor, her secret to memorizing lines is reading along using sign language and by spelling words out with her fingers.
As for shedding a new light on the Down syndrome community, Brewer calls the experience "humbling."
"I see challenges in a positive light," she explained. "The key is listening to who you are and listening to your voice. It’s never being afraid as well, and always [speaking] up, no matter if you are scared or not, find a way to speak up."
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