It was during a matinee showing of “The King and I” that Loh stopped the show when he heard a commotion in the audience.
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Broadway Star Has a Message to the Autistic Child Screaming at His Show-And It's Awesome!
It was during a matinee showing of “The King and I” that Loh stopped the show when he heard a commotion in the audience.
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I really love that this actor spoke out about this. I think it's really incredible that some theaters are starting to create separate showings for autistic audiences, and I feel so sad to hear that this audience reacted so negatively to this kid being in the show. I don't know a whole lot about being a mom (ha. I know zero. nothing.) but I can guess there's not an instruction manual that gives you information for each possible situation and how to handle it best. It's a nightmare situation for any mom, I'm sure, for your kid to start making sounds at an inopportune moment in time, and I'm glad that this actor had the guts to say, "Hey! Let's give this lady a break!" Ultimately I think it's great that she is still bringing her child to shows, and it boggles me that people forget the core of why they went to a show in the first place: to learn something, to connect with something, to feel something. It's easy to get wrapped up in your own life and forget that other people are experiencing something totally separate in the same room.
The world is a place where people of all walks of life have a right to go about their day, to be their own person, and to experience just the same as everyone else. Just because you have a disability doesn't mean you should be ostracized. In this case, Loh was completely in the right to go offstage and talk to the autistic child having an episode in the midst of the show. No one was watching the show at that point regardless, as the child was disrupting the audience enough that people begun to talk about it and to question why the mother would even bring an autistic child to the theatre. the fact that anyone even needs to ask that question shows how jaded we have become as a culture, and how jaded the theatre going populace is in particular. Just because you paid lots of money for some orchestra center seats, autistic children have no right to see the same show as you? America is not a classless society, sure, but disabilities are not a choice and should not be shunned because your reality is realer than theirs. This really should be a non-story, an act of human kindness so common that it isn't news. Unfortunately, human decency is rare enough that here I am commenting on it.
When I saw this in the news a few weeks back, it made my heart happy. The actor that spoke out used to work at my community's high school, where he worked with a close friend's brother, who is autistic. The fact that this actor was brave enough to stop his show is brilliant and heartwarming. I also love that more and more theater companies are hosting autism friendly performances. Theater should be able to be enjoyed by all types of audiences, including people with autism. This is especially important for not for profit theater companies with missions that include "accessibility." For profit productions, such as Curious Incident and Lion King, have had huge successes with autism friendly shows. I wonder what other types of doors we can open as an industry with this type of accessible programming. What about theatre for the blind and deaf? Companies like Deaf West Productions are pioneers with this idea. What else can we do to make art accessible for all? One thing is for sure: more of us will have to take a stand like this actor did to stand up for accessibility.
This message is beautiful, but I can't help but feel that the culture of Broadway is actually at fault here. The reason, first and foremost, that the people around the two of them began complaining and saying insulting things is because they paid large amounts of money to sit in a giant theatre and pretend not to be active participants in the performance that was occurring. There was no sense of enjoyment, give and take, or love that was present in the community that Loh wanted to say the show was bringing together. Props to him for the message he sent, I hope that it was reached by the mother and child. I would purport that if the same incident had happened in a theatre seating 150 people and based in human connection and imagination, the people would have been significantly kinder to the mother and child. While I have no evidence of this, it comes down to the sense of community that is lost when we come to stages like Broadway. Money, status, size, and entertainment get in the way of the community for which theatre is created. Perhaps this can be read as a critique against modern Broadway culture, and an examination of how we can make it more loving and inclusive.
So first off, this is amazing that this actor spoke out and didn't just hold back because I feel like there is a good percentage of actors who feel the similar way. Both of my sisters have worked with kids that have special needs and it is such a special thing to work with those kids. Society so often treats them not as kids, but as something else. One of the most critical parts of development for kids with special needs is inclusion and theater is a great example of that. I know that the Theatre Development Fund, as of a few years ago, began shows that were Autism-friendly. During these performances, jarring sounds are reduced as well as the use of strobe lights. Additionally, there is trained staff in the lobby to help with any incidents that may occur. Theatre is for the people, all people and I am so glad that this actor took the time to say something.
This article inspires me so much. To see that there are still people out there who don’t get angry or frustrated when an occurrence happens during a show. It is human nature to have our moments of loudness and fits. We can’t belittle a mother and child for speaking out. Yes it is unfortunate that it happened during a show and that the mother couldn’t get the child to quiet down or leave but at least she was trying! I think Loh wrote it beautifully in his post on Facebook. We should applaud the mother for taking his son to the theatre. We are trying to get people to the theatre all the time but then when families come we put them down for being loud and distracting. At least they are showing their kids a different kind of art that may change their life. This article is a good reminder to all of us that go to see shows that when interruptions happen we shouldn’t be so quick to judge and get angry but rather understand the context and go from there.
I read about this incident on Facebook a little while ago and I was so grounded to hear how Loh reacted to this situation. It hit me very hard because often times, people forget that the actors on stage have their own personal beliefs and ethics even thought they're playing the role of a character. Although I'll never be able to experience or understand what it means to be on the spectrum, I sympathize with the parents and the individuals who have to live with it. I saw "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime" on Broadway and it really provided some insight into what it's like to live with being on the spectrum. I went with my theatre arts class in high school and one of the students in the class fell on the spectrum. After the show, he came up to me and told me that this show was exactly what it felt like to be on the spectrum. This is the crux of what it means to do great theatre-- to touch and connect us with each other. Theatre and art is for everybody. I despise this elitist cloak surrounding issues like this because it separates us from what it means to be embracing and understanding towards each other as human beings.
I think Kevin Moon Loh did a really brave thing, it takes a lot of courage to address your audience directly and tell them that they are wrong. Lots of times artists feel that their job is just to please the audience and nothing more, but Loh clearly thinks theatre is more than that, he thinks theatre goes beyond enjoyment and pleasure. Though this article is more geared towards being compassionate and standing up for what you believe in, Loh does bring up a really interesting point. During a speech about kindness for others, Loh spends a moment to quietly slip in his philosophy about theatre and why he does what he does. He states “The theater to me has always been a way to examine/dissect the human experience and present it back to ourselves.” I think its really interesting that a successful broadway actor would present and discuss his artistic theology while discussing an event like this, I think it says a lot about how important this issue is to Loh.
It's really incredible that the actor was not only brave enough to speak out about this issue but also was open-minded enough to make the connection that the child was autistic. Personally, if I heard a child screaming at a show, I'm not sure if I would be able to make that connection. It's amazing how Loh was bothered not by the child's disruption, but by the reaction of other audience members to the child. While most would just see the disturbance as annoying, he was actually impressed by the mother and her willingness to bring her child to a Broadway show.
This is a sweet story and to be honest, when I hear children in a theater I really do not appreciate when they scream or interrupt the show. If anything I would prefer the actors to stop until the kid leaves the room. I maybe also think that because my mother believes the same thing. However I do think it is wonderful when shows have performances specifically for students. I agree with this actor, it is terrible that this mother was just blindly judged for just trying to go to a show with a son. But there should be performances that are catered to specific, younger and possibly socially disabled children. I also agree that it takes real bravery to bring one’s autistic son somewhere that requires a certain behavior. Loh also makes the point that he is in a family friendly show and with that the audience should be a wide variety of ages. That is understandable, if you take your child to a PG movie one would probably expect lots of loud children there.
Kudos to this actor for instantly recognizing that the child was autistic, because as this article shows, not many people would have been able to make that connection. I remember several years ago I was working a small show for a children's summer camp and a boy began screaming in the audience before the show even began. The woman I was working with must have seen the look on my face, because she leaned across the soundboard and informed me that the boy was likely autistic and that was why he was behaving in that way. I realized at that point that there was no way that I would have been able to make that connection and it's incredibly important that this actor was able to do so. I really liked the point that the actor made in his post about how special performances for autistic audiences are great, but that their existence doesn't necessarily mean that there will not be autistic audience members at a regular show, and people should be conscious of that fact. This article emphasizes an extremely important point: Theater can and should be for everyone.
Y'know it's not every PTM article that has the ability to make me cry. I am so moved by Loh's words. as a person with a child with disabilities in her family, the world can be very harsh to them. unless you are close to someone with a mental disability, and see how beautiful and innocent and what great people they are, it may be hard to sympathize. but, I'm so happy that he, an actor in the show was able to find the event not annoying, but a place to let people with disabilities think it's okay to come to the theater. I know my cousin loves movies and theater, and yes might have found a whipping scene hard to handle. but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy what he loves just as much as anyone else. I want to thank Loh for standing up for his audience members.
This article was absolutely wonderful. The post the actor made, which was read around the world, is so incredible. He stood up for something that could really go either way and would not honestly be blamed for if it went the opposite, but the compassion he showed holds such as strong message. When I used to work at the Richfield Playhouse in Connecticut we would always have one show where many people from local elderly and disable homes were invited. There were many times that you would hear noises and a nurse would quickly usher them away, but I was taught as the sound engineer to compensate if any audience noise is too loud, and bring up the volume of the actors. This was always such a simple concept to me and I never thought of it on a larger scale - such as in a Broadway theater. I stand with the actor and think we should all be a little more forgiving and compassionate, because you never know the person or the one who brought the person to the theater's story. And who ever said that theater is exclusive to those who are fully able?
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