Presented in association with Chicago’s Neverbird Project, this all-new production of Pinocchio promises to spring to life as an inclusive and inventive take on the classic fairy tale.
Thursday, March 02, 2017
Deaf + hearing actors team up in Neverbird’s “Pinocchio” at Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, 4/20-5/7
Presented in association with Chicago’s Neverbird Project, this all-new production of Pinocchio promises to spring to life as an inclusive and inventive take on the classic fairy tale.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
What goes better together than children and education about Deaf culture or disabilities as a whole? I am really happy that projects like this are happening seemingly more and more often in light of the success of Deaf West's Spring Awakening. Based on the research I have done on last year's production at Bell Elementary, it seems to be an enriching program for both hearing and Deaf students (If you are interested in some interviews with the artistic directors, ASL director, and some students - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QRgvimydnE). However, I am a still a little weary since I could not find any information on the Deaf community's opinion on this project. Both of Neverbird's artistic directors are hearing and I cannot find any information on the current ASL director's connection to the Deaf community. So, in short, I am really looking forward to this production as well as future productions involving Deaf, hard of hearing, and actors with disabilities on stage. I hope that all productions of this type fully embrace and are led by the community they represent.
This is a wonderful initiative. Personally the most wonderful part of this is that it is marketed to children and their parents. This show opens the door for parents discussing how people are different from one another. This is extremely important in a time when people are getting scared because of differences between people. Starting with the Deaf community will open the conversation for how people that might communicate, look, and practice religion differently are all still people and are not something to fear. We should be encouraging kids to embrace their differences rather the cast people who are diffrent away. This show can be a great springboard for parents to have these conversations when the otherwise may not have known how to start them. It can also transition into a conversation about accessibility both in society and the arts. This production of Pinocchio sounds like a wonderful show because of the conversations within families that the show can start.
I feel that often in theatre, people don't continue searching for ways to make theatre more accessible past a wheelchair ramp. Inclusivity and accessibility are major issues and flaws with many theatre, especially with many broadway theaters because of how old some of the buildings are. I've heard of some shows starting to take an initiative towards more deaf-friendly theatre performances by having subtitled performances. However, along with accessibility, representation is also part of the issue. By showing deaf actors it brings a sense of "normalcy" to a community that is often ostracized just for being different that society considers to be normal. In the case of tis article I'm glad to see that this theatre is not only having deaf actors with an incorporating factor of ASL, but it's also geared towards being a family show, making it available for kids to see and learn. While the use of ASL in theatre gained a lot popularity with the Deaf West production of Spring Awakening, the show itself of Spring Awakening really only lends itself of being appropriate to a certain type of audience whereas the production mentioned in this article would be open to anyone.
This is absolutely beautiful...I have a friend who is actively seeking to work on a bond between theatre and ALS in her education, and this is a lovely way to do it. Theatre within our youth is so crucial. It teaches life lessons, and an appreciation for art at a young age before sitting in a theatre and just observing becomes a difficult task. I am really interested in learning more about the neverbird project, as I have never heard about it before. In their mission statement they use the word “wonderment.” This is a curious word to me as it too is new to me, but sounds perfectly appropriate given the circumstance.It warms my heart to see how specialized each performance is, and how it caters so fondly towards creating the best experience for its audience.I would love to see more companies who participate in engaging these communities.
I think beginning to change the accessibility in theatre by starting with children’s theatre is a really strong choice. Teaching the hearing kids ASL would make it something they carry with them for the rest of their lives. We all know it is much easier to learn another language when you are young. And changing how young people interested in theatre interact with ideas of inclusion and accessibility is changing how theatre professionals will interact with these ideas further down the line. Lauren points out that both the artistic directors at the Neverbird are hearing, and that makes me a little worried that this project could fall into some of the traps of paternalism where the hearing people think they know what is best for the deaf community, no matter how well-intentioned they are. I would love to see deaf people as members of the board and leaders of this project as well so that the project is not just a merging of the two community on a surface level but behind the scenes as well. That being said, I would love to see theatre as a whole become more accessible and inclusive of the disabled community beyond the walls of companies like Deaf West and I think children’s theatre is an amazing place to begin changing the entire world of theatre.
Post a Comment