Download Theatre Cohort Receives Generous Support from Theatre

For more information contact:
Shawn Stone
Director of Marketing & Communications
[email protected]
610.647.1900 x104
Cell: 484.678.9728
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 8, 2016
Theatre Cohort Receives Generous Support from Theatre
Communications Group to Increase Accessibility and Inclusivity
across the Delaware Valley
A cohort of six professional area theatres has been awarded a $97,500 Audience (R)Evolution Cohort
Grant from the national organization for theatre, Theatre Communications Group (TCG). Supported by
the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, TCG’s Cohort Grants empower teams of not-for-profit
organizations to strategize and implement audience engagement and community development
initiatives together. The six-member cohort – Delaware Theatre Company, McCarter Theatre Center,
Montgomery Theater, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, People’s Light, and Theatre Horizon – will
address accessibility and inclusivity needs by offering 10-12 Relaxed Performances over the next two
years.
Relaxed Performances (RPs) are specially adjusted sensory friendly shows designed to create a theatre
experience for individuals with a wide range of sensory, learning, and communication differences, and
their families and friends. Examples of people who can and have been served by these relaxed
performances, in addition to those on the autism spectrum, are individuals with other neurological
differences such as ADHD, social anxiety, OCD, and agoraphobia, as well as anyone, such as families with
small children, for whom the social cost of attending and possibly disrupting a public performance may
be a barrier to attending.
People’s Light leads the six-theatre cohort in expanding the availability of relaxed performances in the
region. People’s Light draws on extensive staff experience, institutional history working with individuals
with a range of disabilities, several years of rigorous research pertaining to relaxed and sensory-friendly
performances, and four recent successful RPs. People’s Light was awarded the 2015 Cultural Access
Award from Art-Reach in Philadelphia for the company’s ongoing accessibility efforts, including the first
production of a relaxed performance in the Philadelphia region. People’s Light has a long track record of
working with individuals on the autism spectrum and with a range of cognitive differences through inschool residency programs at the General Wayne Elementary School and the Pathway School. The lead
teaching-artists of these residencies, Wendy Bable (General Wayne) and Pete Pryor (Pathway), are both
key staff on this project. In addition to his residency experience, Pryor is also the father of a teenage boy
on the autism spectrum and brings his personal experience and thoughtful perspective to the cohort's
accessibility efforts. Pryor, who serves as Director of the Drama Program at Pathway, along with
People’s Light Resident Director Samantha Reading, were involved in a Butler University study at the
Pathway School to analyze how theatre activities affect the social skills of students with autism. The
study concluded that students who participated in the theatre project displayed significant
improvements in social behaviors.
Marcie Bramucci, Project Leader and Director of Community Investment at People’s Light, praises the
participating theatres’ passion for building awareness and demand for this work. “What’s especially
exciting to me about this particular group of theatres and individuals is that each committed to the
aspiration of this project and our collaboration before talk of money or the possibility of these grant
funds surfaced.”
McCarter Theatre Center in New Jersey made an institutional decision during its 2012-2013 Season to
begin offering autism-friendly/relaxed performances. A group of McCarter staff members representing
Education, Marketing, Patron Services, Access and Front of House departments attended a training
session with Theatre Development Fund (TDF) in Manhattan and a relaxed performance on Broadway.
Local contacts at Eden Autism Services in Princeton provided further training and support for the first RP
at McCarter in May 2013, a performance of Into the Woods attended by 169 guests. McCarter is now in
its fourth season of offering RPs.
“It has been an absolute honor and joy to offer relaxed performances at McCarter for the past four
seasons,” says Erica Nagel, Director of Education and Engagement at McCarter Theatre Center. “I’m
thrilled by the prospect of how this consortium will take relaxed performance programs in our region to
the next level by sharing and refining best practices and building a network of families and caregivers
who see live theatre as a safe, supportive, inclusive, and enjoyable place to spend time with their loved
ones with sensory differences.”
Beginning in the fall of 2008, Theatre Horizon was the first theatre in the Philadelphia region with an
education program dedicated specifically to those with autism. Theatre Horizon’s Autism Drama
Program is now offered in three sessions annually (fall, spring, summer) and is comprised of two classes:
Youth Drama (10-16 year olds) and Storytelling and the Art of Playwriting (17-30+), a partnership
between Theatre Horizon and Philadelphia Young Playwrights.
Established in 1992, The Totally Awesome Players (TAP) Program at Delaware Theatre Company
employs acting skills and the creation of a play to increase the social skills and creativity of young people
with intellectual disabilities. The TAP Program serves the entire state by offering in-school workshops at
the Howard T. Ennis School, a school for students with significant disabilities located in Sussex County,
Delaware. Executive Director Bud Martin looks forward to building on DTC’s work in this area by now
offering relaxed performances. "We are honored to receive this opportunity to continue learning how
we can best engage and support our community. We hope this partnership will make live theatre even
more accessible to individuals of every age and ability."
For the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (PSF) and Montgomery Theater, this is an exciting new
frontier. Jill Arington, Education Director at PSF says, “Support from TCG and the synergy that comes
from working with a cohort of passionate, like-minded theatre makers will dramatically increase our
capacity to reach new audiences through relaxed performances. We look forward to engaging
individuals with sensory differences and discovering how to welcome and include this audience at PSF.”
Robert Smythe and Elizabeth Roan serve as individual consultants to the cohort. Robert Smythe brings
three decades of professional theatrical invention to the group, as well as a personal mission for
inclusive programming. With ten years working in Audience Services and a passion for accessible
practices, Elizabeth Roan will support integration with Box Office/Front of House staff.
Project consultant Roger Ideishi is Program Director and Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at
Temple University, and Lead Consultant at Ideishi Taylor Consulting. Roger’s role in the project includes
consultation to theatres as a local sensory friendly theatre expert, staff education on developmental
disabilities, and the development of preparatory materials with cohort theatres. He advises various
community organizations on building meaningful learning experiences for children with disabilities and
their families. He is a strong advocate of community-based learning and has helped increase community
accessibility and engagement at performing arts venues, museums, airports, libraries, outdoor play
spaces, and learning gardens.
According to Dr. Ideishi, "Bringing relaxed sensory friendly performances to the Greater Philadelphia and
Tri-State region through the TCG grant and theatre consortium demonstrates the power of collective
action to change the public's perception of diversity and inclusion, and ultimately to change society.”
Following McCarter’s and People’s Light’s eight total relaxed performances to date, the Philadelphia
theatre community has seen key recent developments in offering relaxed performances. The Walnut
Street Theatre offered its first sensory friendly performance this past spring, and Pennsylvania Ballet is
currently in discussion for upcoming accessible programming, as are several other area arts institutions.
Roger Ideishi serves as project consultant for each of these three institutions. Members of this cohort
have also been drawn on for their expertise to support these recent efforts.
Confirmed upcoming relaxed performances include:
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Teen Sherlock by Bill D’Agostino at Montgomery Theater on October 20, 2016 at 7pm
Sleeping Beauty: A Musical Panto by Pete Pryor and Samantha Reading with music and
lyrics by Alex Bechtel at People’s Light on January 15, 2017 at 2pm
Children’s music performer Laurie Berkner in concert at McCarter Theatre Center on
April 29, 2017 at 11am
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Dwayne Hartford, based on the novel by
Kate DiCamillo at People’s Light on May 28, 2017 at 2pm
ABOUT PEOPLE’S LIGHT
Now in its 42nd season, People’s Light, a professional, not-for-profit theatre in Chester County,
Pennsylvania, makes plays drawn from many sources to entertain, inspire, and engage our community.
We extend our mission of making and experiencing theatre through arts education programs that excite
curiosity about, and deepen understanding of, the world around us. These plays and programs bring
people together and provide opportunities for reflection, discovery, and celebration. Founded in 1974,
we produce eight to nine plays each season, in two black box theatres with 340 and 160 seats
respectively, mixing world premieres, contemporary plays, and fresh approaches to classic texts for our
7-Play, Spark, and Teen Series.
ABOUT THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, was founded
in 1961 with a grant from the Ford Foundation to foster communication among professional, community
and university theatres. Today, TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres
to nearly 700 Member Theatres and Affiliate organizations and more than 12,000 individuals
nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through
conferences, events, research and communications; grants approximately $2 million per year to theatre
companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level and serves as the U.S. Center of the
International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is the
nation's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 13 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on
their booklist; it also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the
essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational
efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the
field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre.
ABOUT AUDIENCE (R)EVOLUTION
Audience (R)Evolution is a multi-year program designed by TCG and funded by the Doris Duke Charitable
Foundation to study, promote and support successful audience engagement models across the country.
This new initiative encompasses four phases unfolding over three years: research and assessment;
convenings; grant-making; and widespread dissemination of audience engagement models that work.
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants
supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of
child abuse, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s
properties.
ABOUT THE PATHWAY STUDY
In spring 2011 Suzanne Reading, Ph.D., Director of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program
at Butler University, and James M. Reading, Ph.D. of CARE conducted a study to analyze how theatre
affects the social skills of students with autism. The study’s findings were recently published in the
Journal of Speech Pathology & Therapy in November 2015. Sixteen students from The Pathway School in
Norristown, PA participated in the study—eight students who volunteered to engage in a theatre
project and eight controls who did not participate. The project was led by Resident Director Samantha
Reading of People’s Light, as well as Pete Pryor, Director of the Drama Program at The Pathway School
and Associate Artistic Director at People’s Light. The eight participating students came to People’s Light
once a week for ten weeks to rehearse their own production of a play. Under the guidance of Reading
and Pryor, the students constructed portions of a set, costume pieces, and props, while learning lines
and rehearsing scenes. Speech-language pathologists Suzanne and James Reading developed a rating of
24 social behaviors to monitor the students’ progress. Students were given a rating prior to beginning
the project, then again after the project was completed. Upon completion of the project, the eight
students exhibited significant gains in four particular social behaviors compared to the control subjects.
The behaviors were: displaying appropriate emotions, offering to help without prompting, controlling
temper, and acknowledging the perspective of others. A follow-up study demonstrated that the
students retained their gains 12 months later. The results of the study illustrate the power of theatre to
help facilitate and teach cooperation and recognition of the perspective of others, behaviors that are
keys to success in social and communication interactions.