Disability and Accessibility

For the fourth installment of the Chronic Theatremaker series, Sara Brookner interviews playwright Lisa Kenner Grissom about living with lupus and learning to balance her health practice with her writing practice. 

Kaite O’Reilly considers how Richard III has been portrayed on stage, the alignment of atypical embodiment with evil and suffering, and her inspiration with The Llanarth Group to create a new staging of Richard III.

Jonathan Mandell reports on the accessibility panel at BroadwayCon, which explained the forthcoming changes aiming toward a future theatre seamlessly accessible for everyone, all the time.

Cassidy Dawn Graves writes about Thomas Ostermeier’s production of Richard III and questions why we still see able-bodied actors playing characters with disabilities.

Sam Ethan Rubin writes about being an actor on the autism spectrum.

Jack Reuler discusses nearly two decades of incorporating work about, for, or with people with disabilities or on issues of disability at Mixed Blood Theatre.

Sara Brookner talks to playwright and performer Robbie McCauley about her one-woman show Sugar, and the power of sharing our stories.

Playwright and actor Tim Collingwood reflects on the workshop production of his play Depth Perception, a piece based on his experiences with Aspergers, and why he thinks the theatre can be a safe space for people of all abilities.

Movement director and professor Yo-El Cassell reflects on how movement should help people access playfulness and joy, regardless of ability.  

Kate Langsdorf finishes the series by reflecting on her experience attending different shows as an audience member in Los Angeles, California.

Dramaturg Sara Brookner interviews playwright Trip Venturella about his experiences as a theatremaker with epilepsy.

Jonathan Mandell looks at three plays about caregiving on stage recently in New York.

Clarie Glubiak talks with several theatre companies at the forefront of the inclusive theatre industry asking about sustainability.

Aaron Sawyer and Terri Hudson reflect on what they learned from the Access Auditions, and offer tangible steps theatres can take to become more accessible to performers who are d/Deaf and disabled.

Talleri McRae summarizes a breakout session she co-led at the 2017 Theatre Communications Group Annual Conference.

A conversation between Judith Smith and John Killacky with resources and tips at the Americans for the Arts 2017 Annual Conference, Friday June 16, 2017.

Samantha Mueller, a theatre practitioner who works with the special needs community, talks about Seesaw Theatre which creates multi-sensory work for children with autism.

Kaite O’Reilly addresses how reimagining disability can open up creative possibilities on stage in content, aesthetics, and form.

Minnesota’s favorite storyteller: Kevin Kling.

Ryan Donovan considers the critical reception of casting an actor with a disability in the current Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie.

Ricky Young-Howze writes about why people with invisible disabilities might be wary to disclose that information.