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Thursday, October 27, 2022
When the World Turns is a profoundly moving theatrical experience for children with complex disabilities
theconversation.com: When the World Turns is a beautiful new work designed for children with complex disabilities and their families.
Australian children’s theatre company Polyglot are renowned for their approach to child-centred arts experiences. Their work has a reputation for fostering the creative agency of children as audience and artists.
5 comments:
Angie Zarrilli
said...
This concept is really amazing. My brother has severe autism and I think that even though he may not understand the concepts going on in the show, it would still be a wonderful experience for him to be able to go to this. It is just nice when there is a new place to take him that is welcoming to his abilities and non-judgmental about certain things be may do because he has autism. Sure, now society is a lot better about having people with severe disabilities out in public, but people still stare, ask “what is wrong with him?”, and so on. Just because the world is more aware of these disabilities does not mean they’re more aware of how to interact with or be more respectful to those with them.
I love how much thought has gone into this experience. It is incredible that people have taken the time to think through things like slowly introducing different elements so as not to overwhelm the audience members. I think that most people could appreciate that the different technical elements like lighting and sound are gentle and are slowly introduced and only intensify after that slow introduction. I personally haven't been to an experience like this where there are so many different sensory elements, normally with any type of performance you are watching and listening but not touching different things. I can only imagine how enjoyable it would be to have the realization that you, an audience member, eventually help lead this performance instead of only witness it. Lastly, I feel like we need more of these types of performances in our world. As the article mentioned, the families of these children were able to visibly relax once they realized that their children had been thought of during the creation of this process and that it was constructed in a way to accommodate and bring joy to their children.
4. This is really amazing. I think many people find themselves overwhelmed when trying to make accommodations for every single person in their production, but maybe that isn’t really the answer. Maybe the answer is to start with a group you are trying to serve, and building an experience around them rather than altering an experience that was already made without them in mind. I don’t think it is possible to accommodate everyone at once, but if we continue to expand our forms of theater to include various groups, everyone will find a place that is intended for them. I think that is overall more fulfilling. This seems like a much more enriching and enjoyable experience than the altered theater performances that aim to avoid overstimulation. Not that those are bad, but that is an example of a space that is welcoming, vs a space like this that is specifically tailored for disabled children. Not unlike how children’s shows made for kids are much more enjoyable for children than jr versions of adult shows.
I think that this is a really incredible idea. What Polyglot Theater and Oily Cart are doing is groundbreaking. I've seen a few articles on this blog about disability accommodation, but this is the first that acknowledges children with complex disabilities - which is great, because I feel that they are a group of people that is commonly overlooked. It's nice to see the industry take a shift towards accommodating for more and more different types of disabilities, but we do need to make sure that it continues this growth. The performance itself seems very interesting, almost defying categorization of a play. The description of the sound design especially makes me want to know more about the design of the play. It must be no small task to design for children with complex disabilities, but it sounds like this team went above and beyond. I would love to experience the performance myself to see how powerful it is, but I can only imagine how it affects its intended audience.
I think that this is a really amazing idea for a show, but that it was also created with so much intent and purpose and research that it really makes the final product simply amazing. I’ve always had a fondness for working on shows that are aimed towards a younger audience because there’s something truly magical about the joy on their faces and their awestruck expressions that truly remind me why I love theatre so much. I think that this production did a really good job at thinking about their audience, how would be the best way to interact with them in a way tailored to their needs, and then what would be in a show that would help them feel at home in the production. I think that it was so amazing to hear how these kids reacted to this production. I love the proof that it worked the way that it should.
5 comments:
This concept is really amazing. My brother has severe autism and I think that even though he may not understand the concepts going on in the show, it would still be a wonderful experience for him to be able to go to this. It is just nice when there is a new place to take him that is welcoming to his abilities and non-judgmental about certain things be may do because he has autism. Sure, now society is a lot better about having people with severe disabilities out in public, but people still stare, ask “what is wrong with him?”, and so on. Just because the world is more aware of these disabilities does not mean they’re more aware of how to interact with or be more respectful to those with them.
I love how much thought has gone into this experience. It is incredible that people have taken the time to think through things like slowly introducing different elements so as not to overwhelm the audience members. I think that most people could appreciate that the different technical elements like lighting and sound are gentle and are slowly introduced and only intensify after that slow introduction. I personally haven't been to an experience like this where there are so many different sensory elements, normally with any type of performance you are watching and listening but not touching different things. I can only imagine how enjoyable it would be to have the realization that you, an audience member, eventually help lead this performance instead of only witness it. Lastly, I feel like we need more of these types of performances in our world. As the article mentioned, the families of these children were able to visibly relax once they realized that their children had been thought of during the creation of this process and that it was constructed in a way to accommodate and bring joy to their children.
4. This is really amazing. I think many people find themselves overwhelmed when trying to make accommodations for every single person in their production, but maybe that isn’t really the answer. Maybe the answer is to start with a group you are trying to serve, and building an experience around them rather than altering an experience that was already made without them in mind. I don’t think it is possible to accommodate everyone at once, but if we continue to expand our forms of theater to include various groups, everyone will find a place that is intended for them. I think that is overall more fulfilling. This seems like a much more enriching and enjoyable experience than the altered theater performances that aim to avoid overstimulation. Not that those are bad, but that is an example of a space that is welcoming, vs a space like this that is specifically tailored for disabled children. Not unlike how children’s shows made for kids are much more enjoyable for children than jr versions of adult shows.
I think that this is a really incredible idea. What Polyglot Theater and Oily Cart are doing is groundbreaking. I've seen a few articles on this blog about disability accommodation, but this is the first that acknowledges children with complex disabilities - which is great, because I feel that they are a group of people that is commonly overlooked. It's nice to see the industry take a shift towards accommodating for more and more different types of disabilities, but we do need to make sure that it continues this growth. The performance itself seems very interesting, almost defying categorization of a play. The description of the sound design especially makes me want to know more about the design of the play. It must be no small task to design for children with complex disabilities, but it sounds like this team went above and beyond. I would love to experience the performance myself to see how powerful it is, but I can only imagine how it affects its intended audience.
I think that this is a really amazing idea for a show, but that it was also created with so much intent and purpose and research that it really makes the final product simply amazing. I’ve always had a fondness for working on shows that are aimed towards a younger audience because there’s something truly magical about the joy on their faces and their awestruck expressions that truly remind me why I love theatre so much. I think that this production did a really good job at thinking about their audience, how would be the best way to interact with them in a way tailored to their needs, and then what would be in a show that would help them feel at home in the production. I think that it was so amazing to hear how these kids reacted to this production. I love the proof that it worked the way that it should.
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