Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh is the third American city to present a performance of Disney's "The Lion King" tailored to the needs of adults and children on the autism spectrum. The performance at 2 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the Benedum Center is presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, working with Disney Theatrical Productions, local autism organizations and community liaisons.
7 comments:
I am truly amazed by this article. I never even thought of trying to suit a show for autistic people.
I think this is a real special example of how theatre can connect people and how theatre is an art form that is really full of heart.
The idea of making special adjustments to the production and bringing trained staff and volunteers for assistance is really heartwarming.
I had a friend who volunteered with autistic children for a year, and it is so difficult to teach and work with them, not to mention sometimes dangerous.
This venture is such an amazing initiative and I'm sure many parents and teachers of autistic children would be happy to take advantage of.
Last night I went to see Lion King at the Benedum. If you would have told me afterward that the show was tailored to Autistic kids, I would have never believed you. The show was incredible (minus a few sound and lighting errors). I love the idea that this production bing autistic friendly. This will allow more kids to enjoy the Lion King. In the audience last night you could definitely hear the "wows," "ohhs" and "awwwws" during all of the magical moments, and that alone made my heart sing. I hope that Pittsburgh takes advantage of this opportunity to see this fantastic show that everyone can enjoy. I also, hope that more productions globally start catering to special needs children. Lion King proved that you don't need to compromise a creative vision for a specific audience.
I think it's just absolutely lovely that the Lion King production decided to make this performance autism friendly. Everyone should be able to enjoy the please of seeing theatre without having to deal with a disability or illness. To even produce the show in such a way that is friendly towards people with autism, the show didn't loose too many key elements. There was only a small reduction in sounds and light, which isn't hard to eliminate and doesn't take away from the show. I believe that more shows in the future should be more accommodating to people with disabilities. Not only did the physical performance accommodate the needs, but also the environment of the lobby. I believe this is going to become a common theme among theatres to reach a larger audience and gain a stronger trust between families.
Jason if you saw the performance last night then it would not have yet been adapted performance. The article reads as the matinee performance on the 21st will be modified to accomodate an audience with special needs. Its a great idea that covers little details that people who do not have to deal with these concerns on a daily basis. For example, what the general public might not realize is that those with epilepsy or those with autism who experience epileptic spells can suffer seizures brought on by strobing lights. this does not specifically mean strobes, even light reflecting off of moving water can be enough. Its great to see a high dollar touring show put the extra effort to bring the wonder of their show to more and more people.
THIS IS PHENOMENAL! I have a lot of experience working with individuals on the autism spectrum. And it is truly a wonderful thing that the production and the cultural trust is making this possible. But I would be curious about what other adjustments they are making besides minor cut backs in sounding and lighting effects...are there significant changes in dialogue? Are there changes in costume? People on the Autism Spectrum often struggle in social situations because they lack basic skills in emotion recognition, eye contact, and inferring certain things based on speech and behaviors of others--particularly in reading body language.
This article was so heart warming. Everyone should be able to witness and experience the excitement of live theater! I think Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is making a statement here about how they are committed to their community as well as high quality live theater. This article makes me love Pittsburgh even more than I already do. The Lion King, especially, is a show that is targeted for all audiences. I would love to see both shows and study how they differ. Hopefully many more shows and theater companies will follow The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's footsteps and adjust some shows in order to accommodate all people of the community.
I think that it is great that the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust was able to make this happen. Many people would never even have thought of doing something like this, and the fact that the Trust was able to raise money and make this possible is simply wonderful. I know that art can be very important for helping people with special needs to connect, and hopefully this performance made it possible for many children and adults to have a new and fun experience. Im sure this was challenging for everyone involved- the creation of "quiet spaces" and the addition of trained staff and volunteers must have been a lot of extra work. It would have been easy to write this off as unnecessary or ignore the whole concept entirely. But it will make a difference to many children, and I appreciate the Trust and all of its supporters for making this happen
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