Leslye Orr (1955-2025) was a Minnesota-based playwright, performer and teacher well-known for her workshops on the integration of people with disabilities. She was blind from birth, and learned to walk by following her mother's finger snaps. After 18 eye surgeries, she gained low tunnel vision in her right eye. She proudly referred to herself as a "cyclops," and saw her disability as a gift that fostered her big imagination. Leslye was the creator of many unforgettable solo shows, from her signature comedy Women Who Drink, to Wisecracks from My Father, and What I Thought I Saw: Random Acts of Blindness. She toured her disability awareness play Hand in Hand to all fifty states, and internationally with the U.S. Department of State. From 2006 to 2023, she co-ran Dreamland Arts, a 40-seat black box theater attached to her family’s house in St. Paul. It was a space for artists of all backgrounds to tell their stories.

Learn more about Leslye’s work as an Inclusion Advocate.