Spring Musical Cast Profile: Cooper and Ryan

Fredericksburg, Virginia—Birds of a feather may flock together, but marine gulls also like to socialize and … terrorize humans who have food. There will be plenty of both in an adaptation of Disney/Pixar’s “Finding Nemo, Jr.,” on stage next month, as presented by STEP VA Inc. STEP VA is the Fredericksburg-area 501(c)3 nonprofit that empowers people with disabilities and their families through creative expression and sensory exploration, and this year’s Spring Musical Experience is the fifth one for the organization. With a cast of 46, there’s a role for every one and everyone has a role, regardless of their experience treading the boards.

Two of those cast members, with contrasting levels of experience, are Cooper and Ryan.

Cooper

In his first foray onto the STEP VA stage, Cooper will be one of those gulls in the colony. It makes sense, then, that he cited “being with friends” as what makes rehearsals fun. So far, he hasn’t found much about the weekly practice sessions to be challenging, and his cast mates agree.

“He’s doing great,” one said. “He’s a good dancer.”

It was dancing that drew Cooper to STEP VA in the first place. In the summer of 2024, he joined a series of musical theater workshops led by Marcus Dowd, who at the time was the summer intern for STEP VA and had just finished a successful first year in the drama program at Northwestern University. At those workshops, Cooper not only met future cast mates, but he also showed a talent for dance.

“Cooper has a natural musicality,” said Sarah Law, tap teacher at Virtuous Dance Center, where Cooper and several other cast members take an adaptive tap class.

And it was that affinity for music and dance that landed Cooper a role as one of the featured dancers, in addition to that of the seagull. As a featured dancer, he is in all the big dance numbers and will be visible to the audience through out the choreography. That’s four big dance numbers for him, including his favorite, “Big Blue World.”

When he’s not dancing, he’s joining the rest of the gull colony, chasing vacationers and trying to steal their food.

Ryan

Running from Cooper in at least one scene is Ryan O’Meara, who will don a Hawaiian print shirt and red bucket hat as one of the vacationers. He’ll join Cooper as a featured dancer as well. O’Meara, too, is known for his dancing prowess, as well as his ability to emote. He’s been tapped to flex both of those skills in the show this year, which is his the fourth time in the cast of a STEP VA Spring Musical Experience.

Having gotten his start as the hyena Ed in Disney’s “The Lion King, Kids!,” O’Meara went on to play Woodstock in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and was The Cat in the Hat in last year’s “Seussical, Jr.” Not only is he a vacationer and a featured dancer in STEP VA’s version of Disney/Pixar’s “Finding Nemo, Jr.,” but the audience will also see him as the masked dancer—the physical embodiment of the fallen scuba diver’s mask that Marlin and Dory use in an effort to find Nemo.

Being cast in several different roles in the show means O’Meara has a plenty of chances to pull upon previous experience, so when he says his favorite thing about rehearsals is dancing, especially to “Big Blue World,” he hasn’t made the decision lightly. And like many of his castmates, “Big Blue World” is his favorite song in the show.

Balancing three different “jobs” for the show isn’t the challenge one might think.

“It’s easy,” O’Meara said, compared to being The Cat in the Hat, and likes having different things to do on stage. Plus, he’s got more dancing this year, which he enjoys. Instead, the challenge he identified is learning all the words to the songs so that he knows what his cues are.

One month out from show, though, and the cast has started to gel. They support each other, working on things like dance cues and singing together.

“I like being part of this group,” O’Meara said, adding that he wants everyone—in the audience and in the cast—to enjoy the show.

Meanwhile, Cooper wants everyone to “just keep swimming” and come see STEP VA’s version of Diseny/Pixar’s “Finding Nemo, Jr.,” on stage at Courtland High School, April 12 & 13, 2025. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available for audience members at the show on Saturday, April 12 (6 p.m.). Tickets are $15 (kids under five are free) and are on sale now. CLICK HERE to purchase.

For more information or to donate to STEP VA, visit www.stepva.org.

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STEP VA, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides sensory-based theater and arts programs for individuals with disabilities. Its vision is to transform the world by offering each individual the opportunity to flourish in the community.