The Sense-Ability Ensemble's Guide to Creating Theatre for Audiences that are Neurodiverse

1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-74048-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 159 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

The Sense-Ability Ensemble’s Guide to Creating Theatre for Audiences that are Neurodiverse is a practical handbook that explores how to create theatre for audiences that are neurodiverse.

This book explores the journey of the Sense-Ability Ensemble in its quest to create theatre from the ground up for audiences that are neurodiverse. It demonstrates how to embark on this work and move from a sensory-friendly model that adapts work to make it inclusive to designing work that is created with this specific audience in mind. This is accomplished through highlighting recommended practices such as using live music, puppetry, one-on-one audience member/actor interaction, exploring design considerations, sensory engagement, length, actor/staff training, non-linear storytelling, the use of social narratives, and partnering with special education and occupational therapy professionals. It also offers practical suggestions for touring this theatre model, providing sample forms and methods of communication.

Part case study, part how-to guide, this book will be of interest to theatre educators, practitioners, and students enrolled in courses on children’s theatre, devising, applied theatre, theatre for young audiences, and drama in education.

Zielgruppe

Professional Practice & Development and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

O'Dell, Dionne

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Teildisziplinen der Pädagogik Sonderpädagogik, Heilpädagogik
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Lehrerausbildung, Unterricht & Didaktik Allgemeine Didaktik Kunst, Musik, Theater (Unterricht & Didaktik)
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Theaterwissenschaft Theaterregie, Theaterproduktion

Inhaltsverzeichnis

PART 1: Creation: The Who, What, Where, and Why Introduction: The Shift 1. FARM! A Musical Experience 2. POND Adventure 3. SODA POP SHOP! 4. What if Wilhelmina PART 2: Implementation: The How 5. Getting Started 6. Recommended Practices 7. Touring Considerations 8. Voices from the Field 9. An Actor Reflects by Ryan Duda 10. Impact and Growth by Evan Hill Phillips

Über Autor(innen)

Dionne O'Dell is an academic specialist/faculty in the Department of Theatre at Michigan State University (MSU), where she specializes in writing and directing plays for youth and community. Previously, Dionne was the associate director of education at Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. Although primarily interested in writing plays with a social justice focus (most recently, Phosphates and Fistfights), in February 2010 her short film script Dreadful Sorry (a ghost story) was awarded a $100,000 grant by the South Carolina Film Commission and played to short film festivals around the US. A proud member of the Actors Equity Association, she has also worked as a performer in regional theatre productions, industrial films, and television commercials. Dionne is also the artistic director of the MSU Sense-Ability Ensemble—a group that creates innovative, multi-sensory, interactive theatrical performances for audiences that are neurodiverse. The ensemble’s most recent production, What if Wilhelmina, is a musical adaptation of the children’s book of the same title, created by author and illustrator Joseph Belisle. Dionne is also a member of the Dramatists Guild.