Theatre Development Fund – TDF: "I didn't set out to write about autism," says Catya McMullen about her world-premiere play Agnes at 59E59 Theaters. When she started on the script in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, she wanted to explore the drama that could ensue when characters with complex relationships were stuck together in close quarters to wait out a storm. Only later did she realize that one of those characters was on the autism spectrum. "I don't start with an idea," says McMullen of her creative process. "I start with a person."
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Based on this article, there are a lot of things I really like about the way this play was done. Fundamentally, I like the fact there is an autistic character and autism is relevant to the plot, but the play is not ABOUT autism. It isn’t the overdone “a family’s struggle with having an autistic child” story. I also really like the commitment to research and listening to the stories of people with autism in order to ensure proper representation. In general, if you are trying to represent a group of people and you aren’t from that group (and most playwrights probably are writing about experiences vastly different from their own in every play they write) it is important to talk to multiple people from that group to make sure what you are writing is grounded in reality rather than stereotypes and assumptions. I’m curious to see what happens with this play moving forward. If it continues to be produced at other theaters, maybe I will see it or work on it one day.
I think this play is an excellent example of inclusivity in the arts done in an excellent way. A sort of representation without exploitation. This show isn’t revolving around what makes tis character standout, instead the show is constructed in a way that this only happens to be a component of a character, which I think makes the piece more compelling and realistic. I also can really appreciate the process that was done to make it to the opening production. All her research and outreach in order to try and create a realistic character was mentioned and I think the best part was the representation that was provided in her cast and production team to ensure things were being done right. It is that sort of thoughtfulness which shows a deep concern for the process. It also allows for more representation in theatre both in the play that she wrote, but also offstage in the team she gathered which is so vital and important in enhancing the inclusivity in the theatre world. Something I think there is room for everyone to get better about.
I am always on edge about neurotypical people creating plays about people with mental illnesses, but it’s really nice to hear all the precautions people took for this one. I believe it is SO important to have people who actually deal with this be integral parts of the team, and make sure their voices are heard. Reflecting someone’s inner brain patterns onto the people around them can be dangerous, in making it seem as if people who struggle with intimacy are the same or even understand people with autism. Its always good to try to understand and it is in our nature to relate, but it is important that you gaining from your interaction with someone is not at the expense of them. Luckily this show seems to truly represent the person AS a person, and not just their mental disorders. This humanizes real life people who even by trying to be kind, live in a fake haze of stigma and are seen as only their brain patterns. I am interested to see how this play will play out.
It seems to me like this production is getting a lot of things right about representation. Not only is the show diverse within the canon of the script, but that diversity is also represented in the real-life people who work on the production. It’s always a little disheartening when a character written as neuro-diverse is played by someone who is neuro-typical. I’m also glad to hear that this diversity extends into the production crew. Often those on the stage are diverse, because audienes care about the diversity of the people they see. But audiences don’t check to see if the names in the back of the playbill are diverse. I also like that while the character’s autism wasn’t the defining moment of the production, it was still acknowledged. There’s a hard balance to strike between writing a person and writing a medical diagnosis, and it seems like this playwright may have found a happy medium. I’ll be interested to see where this show goes.
I'm glad to read about this play and the production. It's exciting to see sensory-safe/autism-friendly performances getting more traction, particularly on productions that aren't necessarily oriented towards kids. And even more so on this play, which has a character whose atypicality isn't a defining or central characteristic—the audience gets to see a show that has a character on the spectrum, and the show isn't about autism. I have a parallel frustration with the representation of trans people in the media, but I think that overall we're starting to see minorities on the stage and screen who actually get to be full-fledged people, and whose otherness is not highlighted or alienating.
When I first saw The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, this is exactly the type of work I really hoped would be created and explored. I think it is so important for people to see themselves represented in TV, film, theatre, and just media in general, without seeing themselves as a stereotype or token character in order to get people to want to watch something. I absolutely love that this article emphasizes that this play happens to have an autistic character, but the play is not only about just autism. I also appreciate the fact that this writer has reached out to so many autistic people and experts in order to create a real three dimensional character and not a stereotype. I think this growing movement of portraying atypical mentalities onstage in a positive and productive way is amazing, and I really hope to see it continue and include a broader range of atypical people just going about their everyday lives, without intentionally highlighting or making their disorder the focus of the piece.
I think that this is the next step for all types of diversity. It is great that we have shows about people of color or people in wheelchairs or with Autism but in life those people don't get any more attention than the rest of us, they simply exist with us, hopefully as equals. In the past we have seen an elimination of any one with a disability from the world of art when that is just not realistic to life. I was watching a movie last week where one of the main characters had a brother that was deaf. The brother was in like two scenes and had very few lines but it was some of the most impactful diverse casting I have seen because there wasn't a big thing made of it. He was deaf and it was life and that was that. This is where we need to be moving in diversity.
My younger brother is on the autism spectrum, so this article was immediately intriguing to me. Most of the very few representations of autism in the media are inaccurate and/or insulting, and the person’s character is defined by their condition- their character is either a savant with no desire for human connection or someone completely unable to function. Most stories including a character on the spectrum paint it as a tragedy, or make the story about “this family overcoming the struggle of having an autistic child”. As someone who lives with a person on the spectrum, I can personally attest that while autism can sometimes be a struggle, it is not a tragedy and is not the defining feature of someone on the spectrum. I am glad to see this playwright doing her research and depicting a person with autism where autism is not the focus of the story, but merely one of the many facets of a character.
Reading this article made me very happy. I love to see when shows are incorporating characters with autism and other mental disabilities without making the show about that. So many times playwrights will add a character with autism into their show and then the entire plot of the show will just be about how that character deals with life and about how other characters are dealing with the differences in living with or knowing someone with autism. This show is refreshing because it is just a show with a plot that happens to have a character with autism. Having characters in shows with mental disabilities, I think, is an important way to make a show diverse and show diverse perspectives on life and on the situation presented in the show. The article also mentions that come of the crew and cast members are on the spectrum, which I think is so important because McMullen is extremely right that the autism community is not well represented on and off stage even though designers and actors with autism can produce just as incredible work as those without.
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