Creating an Inclusive Theatre Community

Creating an Inclusive Theatre Community

One of the things that I am most proud of in our community theatre, The Misfit Artist Company, is that we are a fully inclusive program. We don’t identify as a program specifically for special needs or neurodivergent actors, but I think we do a really great job accommodating neurotypical and neurodivergent actors from all walks of life and with a variety of unique needs. I genuinely believe that, in the collective, making the world more accommodating and accessible improves society. Theatre is such a great place to practice that because theatre is already about figuring out how a bunch of very different people can somehow work together to make something.

A little context before I get into this: our programs work primarily with children and adolescents in grades 2 through 12. So when I talk about inclusive theatre here, I am specifically talking about what we have learned working with kids and teenagers. There is obviously a whole conversation to be had about accessibility and neuro-inclusion in adult theatre too, but that isn't really my area of focus here. A second grader and a high school senior are developmentally VERY different people, even before you factor in neurodivergence, disability, personality, experience, maturity, etc. A huge part of doing this well is understanding child and adolescent development in the first place.

Disclaimer #1: It’s Hard Work

I think sometimes people assume that inclusive or neuro-affirming theatre will happen organically as long as you are kind and welcoming. It totally doesn’t. It takes a lot of work, and sometimes it means changing the way you have always done something. You need to have a growth mindset and a flexible vision for your show because the way you pictured teaching or staging something may not be the way that actually works for the humans standing in front of you.

It also means doing a lot of work beforehand and anticipating challenges. Maybe you need visual schedules. Maybe you know you have a particularly loud rehearsal coming up and should have earplugs available. Maybe something that would normally take twenty minutes is going to take an hour because you need to teach it three different ways. Obviously we are still doing theatre and opening night is still opening night, so there is a balance here, but I think being prepared to pivot is a huge part of making inclusion actually work.

Disclaimer #2: You May Need to Do Some Research

My background is in education. I have an early childhood education degree and a Master of Education in community engagement, and many of the things I know about developmentally appropriate practice come from my coursework in college and my experience working with kids. Not every theatre director has that background, nor do they need to, but if you are working with children in grades 2 through 12, I think understanding development has to be part of the job.

And I don't just mean learning about neurodivergence. Sometimes something we interpret as a "theatre problem" is really just a completely developmentally normal eight-year-old, twelve-year-old, or sixteen-year-old doing what kids that age do. Before you can figure out what accommodations a neurodivergent child might need, it helps enormously to understand what is developmentally appropriate for kids their age in the first place.

There are SO many resources now. There are workshops, YouTube series, podcasts, books and even formal trainings where you can learn more about child and adolescent development, autism, ADHD, executive functioning, sensory needs and working with the neurodivergent community. You absolutely do not need to become an expert in everything, but you should be willing to learn, especially when a kid comes into your program whose needs are different from what you have encountered before.

Know Your Cast & Meet Their Needs

Believe kids when they tell you what they need. Sometimes they communicate that through words or writing, and sometimes behavior is communication. Do you have a student who acts up every time you sit down to learn music? Maybe they actually need a fidget or flexible seating in order to engage. Do you have a student who leaves the room frequently? Maybe they are overstimulated by the noise in the rehearsal space, which, to be fair, can be A LOT in children's theatre. A pair of earplugs or noise-canceling headphones can go a long way.

This doesn’t mean that every behavior needs to be psychoanalyzed. Kids are kids. Sometimes they are tired, sometimes they are bored, sometimes they are talking because their friend is sitting next to them and they would rather discuss literally anything other than the harmony you are trying to teach. But I think starting from curiosity instead of immediately assuming defiance makes a huge difference. Why is this happening? Is there something about the environment that we can change? Is there another way this kid can participate and still accomplish what we are trying to accomplish?

Challenge Your Cast Based on Where They’re At

I think this is REALLY important because in an inclusive program it can be very easy to fall into a rut with casting and accommodations. Once you figure out something that works for an actor, there is a temptation to just keep doing that forever. But we should be thinking about tangible goals for growth for ALL of our actors, and those goals are naturally going to look different from kid to kid.

Sometimes that means gradually giving an actor more lines or stage time with each show and scaffolding those skills along the way. Sometimes it means encouraging a shy actor to sing a solo for the first time. Maybe someone has always needed another actor next to them for choreography and this time the goal is to do one section independently. Maybe the goal is projecting enough to be heard without being reminded. There are so many ways to challenge someone that have nothing to do with suddenly handing them the leading role. I want to look at a kid who has been with us for three or four years and be able to see how much they have grown in that time.

Don’t Settle

Accommodation is not modification, and I think this is one of the biggest mistakes people make when working with neurodivergent actors. Sometimes people become SO cautious about treating an autistic actor differently that they basically stop directing them. If a student is off pitch, try to help them find the pitch. If they are mispronouncing a word, help them pronounce it. If something isn’t working or an acting choice doesn’t match the scene, communicate that to them!

Neurodivergent actors aren’t made of glass. You can challenge them. You might have to change HOW you communicate the note, and that is where accommodation comes in. Maybe you need to be more literal. Maybe you need to demonstrate it instead of explaining it. Maybe you need to give them the note individually instead of calling it out across the room. Maybe something needs to be broken into smaller steps. But none of those things mean abandoning the expectation altogether.

I actually think it can become pretty problematic when we decide that someone shouldn’t be corrected or challenged because they are autistic, have ADHD, have an intellectual disability, or process information differently. You are making an assumption about what that person is capable of without giving them the chance to show you. Meet them where they are, absolutely, but then help them figure out where they can go next.

Empower Your Actors & Community

You also cannot be the only person in the room creating an inclusive community. Model treating everyone equally, acknowledge accommodations, and encourage everyone to help one another. There are always actors who naturally emerge as leaders, so give them jobs! Have someone who knows the choreography really well stand near someone who is still learning it. Ask someone to help another actor remember an entrance. Encourage kids to notice when somebody else could use some help instead of teaching them that the director is the only person responsible for everybody.

Kids also notice WAY more than we sometimes give them credit for. They notice if you seem annoyed every time someone asks the same question. They notice if you speak to one actor like a peer and another like a baby. They notice if somebody's accommodations are treated like an inconvenience. If you model that different people need different things and that this is just a normal part of being in a community, they generally get on board pretty quickly.

Be Transparent

We acknowledge being inclusive right from the beginning. Put it in your community covenant. Talk about it at the first rehearsal. Explain that everyone in the room is different and therefore different people may need different things to be successful. I especially think it is helpful to make as many accommodations universally available as possible rather than deciding who is and isn't "allowed" to use them.

We have fidgets available, and anyone can use them. Earplugs might help an autistic actor who is overstimulated, but they might also help a neurotypical actor who has a headache that day. A visual schedule may be essential for one kid and just really helpful for ten other kids. Flexible seating can help someone with ADHD focus, but sometimes another kid just learns choreography better sitting on the floor. I would much rather create an environment where those tools are available and kids learn to recognize what helps them than make someone prove that they need an accommodation.

Ultimately, my goal with inclusive theatre has never been to make theatre easier or lower the expectations for anyone. I want our actors to work hard. I want them to learn their music, memorize their lines, take direction, support their castmates, make mistakes, try again and create really good theatre. I just don't think everybody needs to get there in exactly the same way.

And I think that is something theatre can teach REALLY well. You can have thirty completely different humans in a room with different brains, personalities, strengths, challenges and experiences, and somehow they all have to figure out how to tell the same story together. If we can teach kids how to make space for one another there, hopefully they take a little bit of that with them when they leave.