Download theatre cohort receives generous support from

91 University Pl.
Princeton, NJ 08540
www.mccarter.org
609-258-2787
For more information, contact:
Tom Miller, Director of Public Relations
[email protected]
609-258-6524
THEATRE COHORT RECEIVES GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM
THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO INCREASE ACCESSIBILITY
AND INCLUSIVITY ACROSS THE DELAWARE VALLEY
Laurie Berkner will perform a special relaxed performance at McCarter on April 29, 2017.
Photo courtesy of artist’s management.
PRINCETON, NJ: McCarter Theatre Center is proud to be among a cohort of six professional
theatres in our area 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 in total over the next two years.
McCarter Theatre Center will be presenting a special relaxed performance concert by
Laurie Berkner, star of kids TV and music and a Princeton native, at 11 a.m. on Saturday,
April 29, 2017. Tickets for this special concert will be available in January 2017.
Relaxed performances (RPs) are specially adjusted sensory friendly shows designed to
create a welcoming theatre experience for individuals with a wide range of sensory,
learning, and communication differences, and their families and friends. In addition to
people on the autism spectrum, those with other neurological differences (ADAD, social
anxiety, OCD, and agoraphobia), can and have been served by these relaxed performances.
“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.
“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.”
McCarter staff attended a training session with Theatre Development Fund (TDF) in
Manhattan in 2012 and we continue to improve our training with Eden Autism Services in
Princeton on an ongoing basis.
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 is to advise 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.”
In addition to McCarter’s Laurie Berkner relaxed performance on April 29, Confirmed
upcoming relaxed performances include:
- Teen Sherlock by Bill D’Agostino at Montgomery Theater on October 20, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
- 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 2:00 p.m.
-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 2:00 p.m.
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 events, conferences,
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. 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 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
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 in 2011 to
analyze how theatre affects the social skills of students with autism. 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: 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.
ABOUT McCARTER THEATRE CENTER
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Emily Mann and Managing Director Timothy J.
Shields, McCarter Theatre Center is recognized as one of the nation’s premier theater
companies. Renowned for major contributions to the theatrical canon, McCarter premieres
include such works as Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (winner
of the 2013 Tony Award® for Best Play) and McCarter was honored in 1994 with the
Regional Theatre Tony Award®. Thanks to the efforts of Special Programming Director
William W. Lockwood, McCarter Theatre Center is also a premier presenter of artists
renowned around the world and across genres as varied as dance, classical, pop, jazz,
performance art, comedy, magic, children’s theatre, and much more. McCarter is supported
by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Princeton University, and over 3,000
individuals, corporations, community leaders, and foundations. For more information, visit
www.mccarter.org.