Stage | The Guardian: True diversity in British theatre is scandalously overdue. It will bring huge benefits both creatively and organisationally, but I’ve long argued that until we get over a tick-box mentality in the arts nothing is going to really change, and that British theatre risks becoming increasingly irrelevant.
7 comments:
I was disappointed by this article. I was hoping it would go further than plainly saying disability needs to be included in diversity initiatives and that diversity initiatives need to be made more intentional, focused on inclusion rather than “checking boxes.” How do we improve disability inclusion? This article does not address that much. I personally find the question of including disabled artists a challenge in some ways, but obvious in others. The recent Spring Awakening revival, as ground breaking as it was, is an example of an obvious answer. A production which casts an actor who is partially deaf, and does so in a way that the audience may not even notice (or if they do, it’s not until maybe 2/3rds through the performance), is a more integrated, and more difficult answer, but arguably a bigger accomplishment (I’m speaking from experience here, based on a performance I saw in Boston a few years ago).
What I actually found most frustrating about this article was that the author kept mentioning “the creative advantages” of better inclusion of disabled artists and their narratives, but the author never actually discusses what these advantages could be, nor do they acknowledge the challenges involved with such inclusion. I would definitely agree that inclusion of more diverse narratives provides many new creative opportunities, and does not require much systemic change (nod to Curious Incident, for actually being a realistic and endearing representation of a disabled person). But I think we must admit that given the current status and practice in most theatre industries, with whatever creative advantages disabled artists may bring, their inclusion also presents many challenges. This is why there is an issue in the first place. If we approach the lack of inclusion of disabled artists (be they performers, designers, writers, etc) without acknowledging where or why there are problems in the first place, we won’t make progress.
I think including disabilities in theatre is extremely important. I am actually thinking about an all-inclusive theatre for people with disabilities for my entrepreneurship class. Theatre is becoming more and more diverse with gender and race, but it is ignoring another group of people. People with disabilities like theatre too and creating art, but they are rarely given the opportunity to do so. We are definitely stepping in the right direction with Deaf West’s Spring Awakening production because it not only had deaf actors, it also had Ali Stroker the first person to be on Broadway in a wheelchair. I saw that production and I was very impressed to see how well they used her disability and made it look so beautiful. I have seen people dance in wheelchairs and the way she did it on stage was great. If more theatre companies take a risk by adapting their entire theatre to be wheelchair accessible and able to accommodate a disabled cast then we will be closer to having diverse theatre that includes more groups of people.
I think a big part of this problem is that directors are probably picturing able bodied actors when they are casting a show, but in reality most parts don’t require an able bodied actor. Yes, the blocking might have to be different or the scenic design might have to take that person’s disability into account, but in the end, it shouldn’t matter. The point is to tell the story in an interesting and compelling way, and actors with disabilities can do that just as well for almost every single role in existence. I think this problem is compounded by the fact that most movies, plays, or TV shows about a character with a disability feature the disability as a central element of the plot. I can’t think of many examples of shows where there is someone with a disability but the story has nothing to do with it. I see a problem with that trend, as people with disabilities lives don’t revolve around their disability, so it becomes misleading and incomplete to not portray people with disabilities in roles that are not disability specific. Casting people with disabilities in a wide variety of roles, as this article discusses, would help fix that problem, but until people start casting actors with disabilities, those who are casting shows might be less likely to picture the show with a disabled actor.
Talking about what it means to be diverse is at the heart of what the article tries to accomplish, and how we define diversity in today's theatrical world. Back in the day, it would have been enough to have a cast including a few African American people to be considered diverse. Nowadays, however, everybody needs to be represented by actors that share their exact state, gender identity, handicap, etc., out of fear of not being PC, or having the theatre not be a "safe space" for people with that disability or that identity. I understand how it is important for arts to be inclusive, but, at what point do we begin handing out participation medals for everyone that comes to the race? Gender and racial equality is one thing, because we are all people, but saying that disabled artists should be entitled to specific programming and attention almost seems to be pandering. Disabled people supporting disabled people, if you will. Just because someone is in a wheelchair doesn't mean that their play is any less valuable than someone with legs, and I'd never hire an amputee to be an electrician, just based on their ability to do the work. Who you are as a person is why you should be valued, not which disability you have.
The theatre world has taken big steps towards being more inclusive in recent years, but I feel like people with disabilities have been overlooked. Most directors and casting agents always go in with the vision that actors will be able bodied, so it makes it hard for actors with disabilities to find work. This attitude is not something that's just in the theatre world, but rather is something that affects almost every part of society. Our assumption that everyone will be able bodied has lead to many spaces being inaccessible to many people, and has also meant that most things are marketed towards able-bodied people too. However, I do think that there is some hope for the situation. Like Sam said, the best example I can think of including people with disabilities was Deaf West's production of Spring Awakening. This piece of theatre was not only told a great story, but also sent the message that people with disabilities can and should be on Broadway. Hopefully this will set a precedent that will be followed by other companies.
I think this article brings up a really good point. Over the past couple of months, I have read many articles that talk about how theatre is becoming more and more diverse in ways such as being more inclusive/less-biased to race and also in ways such that create performances especially FOR those with disabilities, such as autism, to enjoy. First, I think it is important to discuss what disability really means. Of course, every disability should get the opportunity to preform and be involved with the theatre, but I think that each category of what we consider disabilities can be handled in different ways to insure maximum effectiveness. This is something that I did not get from the author. Also, I think the article does a good job a presenting the problem that many people overlook, but I think it could have been more effective had the author included some possible solutions or even first steps that could be taken to get the ball rolling. Diversity is becoming such a big thing for theatre and that is truly awesome! The theatre world has been looking more and more similar to our own world and and the inclusion of disabilities is something that would help this along even more. While we have already made some strides, such as Deaf West's Spring Awakening, There are still several disabilities that deserve their chance to shine.
This is a very interesting article. The inclusion of disabled artists and performers in theatre is something that people have sort of overlooked because of all the hype in trying to spread the message of gender and racial diversity. I completely agree with Megan in that this overlook is not just apparent in the theatre industry but rather in all parts of life. And it just highlights how society thinks of disability, "something that lessens the worth of product due to disability. " That mentality is definitely one that we have to extinguish. As mentioned, an actors portrayal or performance hinges on their ability to characterize emotionally, not whether or not there is proof of a disability on stage. Im very happy that some parts of the industry are not only including disabled performers and actors, but also celebrating their ability to touch the audience with the same passion and awe than those without disability. As time moves on, I hope to see more groups of people overlooked by diversity, get a shot at their dreams.
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