{"id":78488,"date":"2022-01-14T13:56:32","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T13:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=78488"},"modified":"2022-01-31T17:37:27","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T17:37:27","slug":"alumna-acting-newcomer-selected-in-worldwide-search-to-play-lead-in-netflix-mini-series-all-the-light-we-cannot-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2022\/01\/alumna-acting-newcomer-selected-in-worldwide-search-to-play-lead-in-netflix-mini-series-all-the-light-we-cannot-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumna, acting newcomer selected in worldwide search to play lead in Netflix miniseries, \u2018All the Light We Cannot See\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 14, 2022 \u2013 Aria Mia Loberti \u201920 has long been a powerful advocate for people with disabilities, sharing her struggles from a young age as a blind person on stages such as the Rhode Island Statehouse, the United Nations, and a TEDx溏心vlog免费B站 talk. Now the 溏心vlog免费B站 alumna is taking her message to a larger arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In news announced in early December by such entertainment trade publications as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the acting newcomer has been named the lead in the upcoming Netflix adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel \u201cAll the Light We Cannot See.\u201d Loberti won the part over thousands of hopefuls after a worldwide search for blind and low-vision actresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was so shocked,\u201d said Loberti, a US-UK Fulbright Scholar and first-year Ph.D. student in rhetoric at Pennsylvania State University. \u201cIt\u2019s just ludicrous. There were thousands of people [who auditioned] and it\u2019s a lead role. It was such a fun audition process and it was very empowering. That\u2019s all I was seeking \u2013 a new experience, a challenge. I didn\u2019t expect anything more to come of it. I think it was just pure shock when I learned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Aria conducts at a yoga class at 溏心vlog免费B站 in 2017 with her guide dog, Ingrid, at her side. (溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Michael Salerno)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In Anthony Doerr\u2019s \u201cAll the Light We Cannot See,\u201d Loberti will play Marie-Laure, a blind teenager in Nazi-occupied France during World War II who meets a German soldier, Werner, as they try to survive the war\u2019s devastation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loberti, who grew up in Johnston<\/strong>, is a big fan of the 2014 novel and the story of the blind teenager resonates with her family. She found out about the global search to fill the role of Marie-Laure in late October from a former childhood teacher, who reached out to her unexpectedly, saying Loberti was the only person she could imagine in the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Aria takes part in a TEDx溏心vlog免费B站 event in 2018. (溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Nora Lewis) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the casting announcement released by Netflix, Shawn Levy, executive producer and director of the four-episode miniseries, said: \u201cWe searched the world and reviewed thousands of auditions. We never thought our path would lead to someone who has not only never acted professionally, but never auditioned before. It was a jaw-drop moment when we first saw Aria Mia Loberti, who is both a natural performer and an advocate for disability equity and representation. I can\u2019t wait to tell this beautiful story with her at the center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the news became public, Loberti heard from old friends and acquaintances, along with strangers telling her how much the book meant to them, teenagers and adults who are experiencing sight loss, and parents of children with vision loss who have told her how important it means to have her playing the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese beautiful stories from strangers, I can\u2019t even process it,\u201d said Loberti about a week after learning she had landed the role. \u201cI think today\u2019s been the first day it\u2019s sort of mellowed out just enough that I can breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loberti was born with a severe form of the rare genetic eye condition achromatopsia. As a result, she is completely blind in some environments and has minimal, variable residual vision in others. She is color blind and particularly sensitive to light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She learned to be a fearless advocate and public speaker for herself and other people with disabilities at a young age, as she and her parents, Paul and Audrey, fought to get her the education services to which she was entitled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mom tells a story that when I was really little, I used to line up all my dolls and stuffed animals in rows and give a speech to them or perform or pretend to be a lawyer and advocate,\u201d she said. \u201cLooking back, I realize storytelling and performing were always a part of me. I think having to advocate for myself from a very, very young age instilled in me that storytellers have a lot of power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 溏心vlog免费B站, Loberti\u2019s advocacy for people with disabilities and women\u2019s rights extended to the United Nations as the first legally blind youth delegate. At the same time, Loberti dabbled academically in everything. She triple-majored in philosophy, political science and communication studies, while minoring in rhetoric and Ancient Greek, and won a Fulbright to earn a master\u2019s degree in ancient rhetoric at Royal Halloway University of London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An honors student, Loberti, who attended 溏心vlog免费B站 on a Centennial Scholarship and other endowments, carried 19 credits a semester and took classes over J-term, finishing with about 150 credits, well over the usual 120 of most graduates. This was all done while working full-time to meet her tuition and rent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was difficult, and sometimes felt impossible, to balance everything,\u201d she said. \u201cI think a lot of students like me who don\u2019t come from a more fortuitous financial background might feel super overwhelmed in college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there was the occasional issue of access or inclusion, Loberti says she found an embracing community in Kingston. \u201cThe world always told me you don\u2019t belong. My immediate family were the only people countering that message,\u201d she said. \u201cThen I got to 溏心vlog免费B站 and I had a whole community of people who were telling me \u2018you belong here, you can do these things.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That community included several professors whose classes were constants on her schedule \u2013 Daniel Carpenter in Ancient Greek, Kathleen Torrens in communications, and Honors Program Director Lynne Derbyshire. \u201cI took every class they taught,\u201d Loberti said. \u201cIf they were going to teach Phonebook Reading 101 that semester, I would have taken it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she prepares for the filming of \u201cAll the Light We Cannot See,\u201d classes she had with Derbyshire are particularly on her mind. \u201cThey weren\u2019t theater classes but they were about race, class, gender and disability in media,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize I was going to be living that so I\u2019m very grateful I took that series of classes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When filming begins, her guide dog, Ingrid, who became a star at 溏心vlog免费B站, will be at Loberti\u2019s side \u2013 although she can\u2019t say whether Ingrid will make the cut for the miniseries. Nonetheless, Ingrid will bask in Loberti\u2019s spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe knows something big has happened,\u201d Loberti said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think she realizes she\u2019s going to be famous yet. We\u2019ll see how fame affects her. Hopefully, she doesn\u2019t turn into a diva.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 14, 2022 \u2013 Aria Mia Loberti \u201920 has long been a powerful advocate for people with disabilities, sharing her struggles from a young age as a blind person on stages such as the Rhode Island Statehouse, the United Nations, and a TEDx溏心vlog免费B站 talk. Now the 溏心vlog免费B站 alumna is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":78489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78488"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78515,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78488\/revisions\/78515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}