“People with autism are often on guard about their condition,” said Lucianna Randall, executive director of the Autism Connection of Pennsylvania. “They often walk into a theater with anxiety. When you add to that uncertainties like darkness when the lights go down, loud music, flashes of light and special effects, their anxiety level increases.”
6 comments:
This is really an amazing feat which the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and The Benedum Center did. Creating an environment suitable for autistic people to be entertained, and feel comfortable is such a hard thing to do, and I really appreciate how much work was gone into the idea behind this. Changing the technical aspects of the performance, and the seating is such a pain, but it is done with such a kindness in the hearts of those who are producing Beauty and the Beast. The success of this event also makes me hopeful that it will continue and reach more people. Although it is a pain to change the performance space for one matinee show, it is such a kind thing to do. If other theatres catch on, it could revolutionize theatre and reach a whole new level of people. I really appreciate the modernization of the Pittsburgh Ballet and their constant strives to make their performances better than before.
I wonder if having this kind of environment set up for a performance actually helps the younger audience members pay attention more. I mean not letting the lights turn all the way off and letting the children play with toys would really annoy me if I was in the audience. I don't if I would feel more at ease with this way of changing the house space to fit the audience's priorities. It may be because I don't have children yet, but I think that children should have to set through a performance without any added sensitive elements. And if they have to add anything they should add quiet room, just like they have in a church. And if it's not sensitive than parents shouldn't bring their children to the performance. However, I feel like I would love this show because I love Beauty and the Beast and see the dance version of this show would be incredible, especially a dance to the main theme song.
This is amazing and there is no reason why more theaters could not be doing this. One common goals of the arts is to spread it, not to exclude. Both of my sisters work with those with special needs. The patience one must have is extraordinary, and is clearly demonstrated in the steps that the Pittsburgh Ballet and Benedum Center took. Although the article states this was the first ballet ever to do this, it seems liked it is based off of what the Theatre Development Fund has done in New York City, primarily with Disney shows. The whole initiative based on the article seems well planned out and devised for a purpose. Someone truly wanted to do this and get this type of audience in. I also think it is a learning process for everyone. It helps the actors became more aware of their audience and gives lighting and sound designers a challenge to keep their work in tact but adjust it according to the needs of the audience.
It is so great that the Pittsburgh Ballet made a “Beauty and the Beast” performance that autistic people can enjoy with minimal amounts of anxiety. I feel like too often we forget that there are people with disabilities who have trouble watching a play because of relatively easy things to fix. To just have the lights not go all the way down and to give them something to play with, are not that big of deals. The toys could become more distracting, but I don’t think that the kids are really creating whole stories and whatnot with the toys while the show is going on, but more just occupying their hands while they focus on the show. And that is really great for them. I hope more theaters can follow suit and get more autistic people into shows. Now what’s next is to get theaters working on helping all people of disabilities able to enjoy all kinds of theatre. Mostly what comes to mind is all the strobe effects that people with epilepsy cannot take. The effects are cool, but it makes it hard for some people to watch shows.
I think that this is an amazing idea, and I hope that other theaters in Pittsburgh and else where start to make this a uniform service. Often people, especially children suffering from autism and similar disabilities are unable to enjoy live shows and entertainment because the environments are such a sensory overload. The fact that the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater took the concerns so seriously and even trained the staff and performers to cognizant of the needs of this smaller community that wanted to come take part in their show, is super inspiring to me. Having worked with children with autism in the past I noticed a lot of experiences like plays and movies and other entertainment were not an option for the kids I was working with even though they desperately wanted to participate. I hope that this trend catches on quickly because it would open the doors of theater to a significant amount of new audience members.
When I first read the caption to this article, I could only think of the people that I’ve come across with developmental issues. Friends who brought their impaired siblings to our shows, family members, all of whom had a hard time sitting through loud, obtrusive, long theater. What the Pittsburgh Ballet is doing is not only revolutionary but is actually also therapeutic. Think of it in terms of being an education supplement. This could be seen as a way to help autistic and otherwise impaired people to interact with the world in a positive manner. By coupling this with other educational programs, bringing theater to an impaired world could do more than just provide entertainment. Many of these people need something that attracts them; offering classes in acting and design could help them to make connections between their imagination and reality. It could be what gives these people a firmer hold on the world around them.
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