And welcome to the first of our blog posts.
As we move towards a full production this april, we figured why not keep the world posted on our progress, our dreams, and even our setbacks.
so here goes!
I suppose the best place to start is what we are doing and why.
We are currently planning two events: a fully realized production of The Good Woman of Setzuan by Brecht in April and a fundraiser of new one acts in February. But this will be no typical Brecht production! We are planning a production geared towards an autistic audience in hopes of tapping into a new theater audience and giving autistic individuals a creative outlet. This will be a production full of songs, masks, puppets and maybe even live music! This will be a whole new adventure for our actors and productive team!But beyond a theater production, we want to create an event that both directly and indirectly benefits the Autism community in New York. We wish to foster an environment in which autistic individuals and their families feel welcome. The production will be free to the public, so as not to discourage those who cannot afford a traditional theater ticket from attending, but all donations we do receive will be sent directly to Touching Humanity Inc, a non profit working with disabilities and the arts.
Perhaps you are wondering: Why now? Why this show?We believe that now is the perfect time for an event such as this. Across the country, Autism is finally gaining the awareness it deserves. Statistically, autistic students are drawn to forms of creative expression such as music, theater and art. These are children that, just like any others, simply want to be heard and unfortunately, they are often ignored simply because they are vocally silent. We want them to be able to walk into a theater performance with their families and friends just like any other child would. Their parents shouldn’t have to simply stay home for fear of their child’s specific behaviors disrupting other audience members or even the actors themselves. Sensory friendly events catered to an autistic audience are gaining appeal in movie theaters across the country and now even among children’s theater performances. However, we see no reason why this must be restricted only to children’s theater. Why not expose children to a piece that will challenge them and yet, still speak directly to them? This production will be the first autistic friendly presentation of a classical theater piece.
It is with this is mind that we have chosen Brecht’s play, The Good Woman of Setzuan. With its overarching questions of “What is goodness?” and “How do we strive to be good in an imperfect world?” the play will help fuel ideas and encourage moral development in the young audience members. Brecht encouraged the audience not to become completely immersed in the show they were watching, but to always be aware of the fact that they are an audience at a piece of theater. In this respect, the actors often interact directly with the audience members, keeping the autistic individuals more engaged than by simply watching a traditional show. This play also employs the use of masks with distinct and exaggerated emotions. Autistic individuals often have trouble recognizing facial expressions and their correlative emotions, and this would aid with that challenge. Beyond that, with its wealth of songs, it will appeal to the more sensory driven world of the autistic individual. For our performance of this play, we plan to present it “in the round.” By using this technique, essentially, surrounding the stage by audience members we are creating a stronger sense of intimacy for the audience, giving them a sense of comfort and structure within the space. To aid nonverbal individuals, we will also be incorporating PECs symbols, an augmentative communication system created to help non-verbal autistic individuals communicate. With the use of familiar images and words, the audience members will be able to understand what they are watching, even if they can’t always understand what they are hearing.
Sound interesting? Sound appealing? Sound completely terrifying? Stay Tuned!
