NEA: As an actor with autism, Mickey Rowe knows that performers with disabilities have to work harder because they have more to prove. “You are used to going above and beyond, overcompensating, and doing ten times more work just to show people that you are professional and capable,” he said. Which is why he stressed that when people see a performance by the National Disability Theatre (NDT), which he helped establish last year, they should not expect less. If anything, they should expect more.
2 comments:
I really only have good things to say about this article and the work that they are doing in the theatre world to enhance inclusivity. This article made me so excited to hear about the work they end up producing and made me have the strong desire to try and go see a show that they are working on. As the article said these artists automatically work so hard and are so driven in there work that when a company works with a select few they are come to be thought of as expectations when in reality they are the standard for the industry, our diversity is just so limited we don’t get the opportunity to see it. The thought of all these artists coming together to create theatre as well as diversifying the audience they are preforming to is just going to be an amazing experience for everyone involved. Their ideas for inclusivity are inspiring, I think a lot can be gained for following this companies mission and that the theatre world is going to be better off.
I was really impressed by everything I read in this article. I think it is so incredible that there is a successful theater that is solely devoted to giving opportunities to and putting on productions with people with disabilities who might not otherwise have the opportunity to have a career in the performing arts. As Mickey Rowe was saying, people with disabilities have so much more to offer than most people think and I think it is so important that they be given the platform to act and perform about their own experiences to bring awareness to the subject. I was particularly struck by his comment that people with disabilities have to work harder than most people to be heard and I hope that one day, they will be given equal opportunity to work in this business. In a perfect world, people with disabilities would be as present and represented in commercial theater as everyone else, but, until that happens, I think the existence of these kinds of theaters that showcase their art is incredibly important.
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