Disabled Theatre Artists Deserve Better Pathways into the Industry

Throughout my experiences working in both educational and professional theatre, I’ve noticed the lack of resources for disabled artists pursuing careers in the theatre industry. These observations led me to complete my undergraduate honors thesis on the state of accessibility for disabled theatre artists in production disciplines in the United States. One of the main inquiries for my research was the availability of accessible training programs for emerging disabled theatre artists. I was familiar with programs that offered performance training, but I was unaware of any that offered education or mentorships for artists who work in production, management, and design. Unfortunately, my deep internet searches and conversations with disabled theatre artists confirmed my theory that there are very few opportunities to receive inclusive training in these areas. Considering the severe inaccessibility of United States’ universities’ conservatory programs, college is not a viable option for many of these artists. If they aren’t accessing training in a formal educational setting or a professional training program, then how are they expected to enter the industry?

By creating accessible entryways into the industry, theatremakers can increase access for disabled artists at the beginning of their careers.

Although it is important to have initiatives that help disabled artists throughout the stages of their career, those who are just starting out need the most help.

Barriers for Early-Career Disabled Theatre Artists

It is important to have initiatives that help disabled artists throughout the stages of their career, however, those who are just starting out need the most help. This is especially true for artists who are disabled prior to entering the industry as opposed to those who have successful careers before becoming disabled. At the beginning of their careers, many designers work in shops (carpentry, electrics, costumes, etc.) before they are given the opportunity to start designing. This can be incredibly beneficial to their careers as learning the inner workings of a shop and how a design is constructed can make them better designers. However, when these shops are not accessible environments to disabled artists, they miss these experiences, delaying their progress in the field. If they can begin their career via assisting, working as an associate, or being a lead designer, the smaller theatres that they often start out at frequently have severe access barriers as well. In the co-written essay, “The Importance of Including the Disabled Designer” by Michael K. Magg and Mallory Kay Nelson, Magg writes:

"When working with smaller companies or at underfunded jobs, the designer is also expected to hang and focus lights and projectors, run cables, load weights, and more. Even if the expectations do not include the lighting technician aspects of the job, the long hours and short breaks require extensive planning for someone with a disability."

This can easily be translated to other disciplines, such as scenic designers being tasked with constructing and painting their own sets or costume designers having to pull pieces from stock  and make their own alterations. Whether or not the designer is informed of these additional tasks beforehand, not being able to meet a company’s expectations can lead to dismissal and a falsely represented poor reputation.

Inaccessibility of Collegiate Theatre Programs

The most common route for theatre artists today is attending a four-year university program, often a conservatory or conservatory-style, before entering the “real world.” However, higher education has been historically inaccessible to disabled students, limiting the number of disabled young adults who pursue a college career. According to the Disability Statistics Compendium released in 2023, close to 20 percent of twenty-five to thirty-four-year-old disabled Americans possess a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in comparison to 41 percent of nondisabled Americans in the same age group. For disabled students who are able to attend college, it is likely that they are not accessing an inclusive environment on campus. A 2022 peer-reviewed study assessed fifty well-funded undergraduate collegiate programs using a University Disability Inclusion Score and found that 60 percent received a close to failing grade when “measuring accessibility, accommodations, and reputation for inclusion.” In comparison, only 6 percent received an A.

Outside of the routine accessibility barriers in educational environments, such as the need for materials in alternate formats, extra time on exams, interpreters, etc., disabled arts students face an additional set of difficulties learning in their “nontraditional” classrooms (i.e. standing on ladders, carrying heavy scenic pieces, precariously maneuvering about lighting grids, use of fine motor skills while soldering, etc.). For students who do seek out accommodations to assist in their studies, many arts programs do not know what they can do to support them. There are plenty of disability-centered theatre companies that are willing to help larger universities with developing adaptations for their training, but many of these resources remain untapped. John Clinton Eisner, former artistic director at the Lark, is an advocate for working with universities to create a framework for tackling these issues. Citing training programs that are already established at large theatres with disability-focuses, he implores collegiate theatre programs to tap into these resources so that disabled arts students can prepare for a fulfilling career in theatre.

Scarcity of Professional Training Programs

Students who do not pursue college but still wish to have a career in the arts may turn to community services for training. Popular mediums that disabled artists discover include creative arts therapy and theatre clubs, both of which are predominantly intended for building social skills or therapeutic purposes, not serious career training. Throughout my research for disability inclusive theatrical training, I found a large amount of these programs. Many featured flashy taglines suggesting that they would welcome anyone, but upon further reading, they only mentioned their resources for developmentally and intellectually disabled adults. Upon reviewing a variety of curricula and course descriptions, I read that students are taught how to play a series of improvisational games, and found no mention of other styles of training. For disabled artists who are interested in pursuing theatre professionally, these clubs are not only unhelpful but can be quite demeaning.

There are government policies intended for disabled adults to find work in the United States, but most of the programs do not include the arts as a sustainable career path. Programs intended to assist disabled adults in finding work, such as Ticket to Work, do not offer many resources for those hoping to pursue a career in the arts. For other industries, “The Ticket to Work program helps you, free of charge, to get vocational rehabilitation, training, job referrals, and other employment support services,” however if you search for arts resources on their site directly, you’ll find close to nothing. On their partner sites, such as Apprenticeship USA, DisabledPerson.com, IMDiversity, and Getting Hired, arts and entertainment will populate in search results, but most of these jobs are not actually for the performing arts, but more so movie theatre attendants and home theatre technicians.

Fortunately, there are some organizations that offer sincere and rigorous classes for disabled adults to learn about various performance techniques. As opposed to the long days with tense competition one would find in a collegiate conservatory environment, these classes happen once or twice a week in a relaxed environment with small groups of varying skill levels. Some of these organizations offer their programming for free whereas others charge a small fee, generally able to come out of one’s Disability benefits.

One leading nonprofit conducting this work is EPIC Players, a neuro-inclusive theatre company based in Brooklyn that serves all five boroughs of New York City (and has recently expanded to Los Angeles, California). In just over eight years, EPIC has continuously delivered on their mission of “creating professional performing arts opportunities and supportive social communities in the arts for Neurodivergent and Disabled artists.” To do so, in addition to their courses, they also pay their performers for acting in the shows that they produce. However, like many of their sort, EPIC focuses on the scarcity of professional disabled performers, and therefore, is unable to support disabled artists in production disciplines seeking professional training opportunities. There are very few organizations which offer development opportunities for both sides of the table, let alone solely in production, management, and design.

How to Address This as A Collective

Outside of the overarching systemic changes needed to make the industry more accessible, there are a variety of ways that arts organizations can support local disabled theatre artists.  

For organizations that are already (or are considering) offering training courses:

• Provide production courses in addition to your performance ones. If you have an intro to theatre class, make sure to include production disciplines as part of the curriculum.
• Specify how you value not only diversity and inclusivity, but accessibility by name. Use the word disability! Allow the space for accommodations in your curriculum and ensure that your teaching artists understand what that may mean in their classroom.
• Share resources on Universal Design for Learning, “the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability.” Implementing Universal Design in an educational setting can be especially fruitful for areas frequented by inexperienced or new students.

During my research, I interviewed a collegiate scene shop supervisor (who has asked to remain anonymous) who shared several ways in which they have made their shop more accessible. Their initiatives are notable examples of Universal Design for Learning. This is what they told me about what additions they made to their shop:

A large decibel meter on the wall as a visual representation of when to wear hearing protection. We have a large print/digital tape measure that also speaks the measurement. We have fidget toys, legos, and coloring sheets on our “front” work table for anyone who wants them. All of our furniture is labeled with a colored dot, and is put in a corresponding colored location with the color name also written out in text form. Our tool bins have pictures of the tool and a label of what the tool is on it.

In a collegiate environment, there are often students working in the shop who are inexperienced or not working there very often, so having measures in place to remember where things belong or reminders for safety protocols are helpful for all. For neurodivergent individuals, as well as those who deal with brain fog, these measures make finding materials (as well as putting them away) a more accessible experience. For those who are D/deaf or hard of hearing, having a decibel meter as a visual for hearing protection can also be of benefit. With all these accommodations already in place, students in the shop are able to work independently, rather than having to ask others for help when something is inaccessible.

For organizations that want to connect with disabled artists but don’t have the resources to offer classes:

• Curate mentorship programs between your staff and emerging disabled artists. These programs can be incredibly impactful for artists just starting out in the industry. Even with a low budget, there are opportunities to be made for networking, whether that be simply shadowing for a day or offering portfolio reviews and mock interviews.
• Invite disabled artists to your opening night receptions and inside access events. By welcoming the community into your space, you’re opening your organization up to a variety of reciprocative connections, whether that be future employees or audience members.
• Provide opportunities for disabled artists to showcase their work whether it be at a physical location (lobby, ticket office, concessions, etc.) or digitally (on your organization’s website or social media pages). If possible, pay the artist for allowing you to feature their work or offer to showcase it for sale.

When working on productions:

• Include accessibility in all areas of the production from the beginning of the process: Ask your team what sort of accommodations they would benefit from in the rehearsal room, during tech, and throughout the run of the show. Ensure your paperwork is screen reader accessible with the use of simple clear fonts and image descriptions. Prepare your audience accessibility programs for the start of the tech rehearsal process so that they can be rehearsed and have ample time to work out any issues. This is a proactive way to demonstrate to disabled artists that they are welcome at your company and not viewed as an afterthought.
• Hire disabled artists, especially when you’re working on a show related to disability. Value their perspective.

In general: don’t expect disabled artists to work on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility committees or assist with your Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) plan. If they are interested in taking on those responsibilities, pay them for that additional work.

Disabled artists are forced to fight against the current to make it in our industry. Combatting this stigma by creating initiatives for up-and-coming disabled artists is one way that arts organizations can support these artists in making theatre a career.

Due to the lack of training available to disabled theatre artists, creating opportunities for career development is a fantastic form of allyship. The scarcity of professional training programs for production disciplines insinuates that either disabled production artists don’t exist or are not welcome. Disabled artists are forced to fight against the current to make it in our industry. Combatting this stigma by creating initiatives for up-and-coming disabled artists is one way that arts organizations can support them in making theatre a career.