Introduction
This book is written by teachers and performance practitioners, for other teachers, practitioners and communities of performance training.1 It is aimed toward those who have an interest in teaching approaches that enhance equal opportunities for all individuals, including those with differences and dis-abilities,2 so they might achieve an autonomy and freedom of expression in their work. Although it is recognized that methods of teaching specialisms in performance are often based on an instructorās professional knowledge, high levels of skill and teacher expertise, there is frequently a focus on the techniques of the performance method itself, and not on an observation of, or reflection on, the pedagogical concerns in delivering it. These methods historically serve the traditional neuro or physio typical3 model of ableism. This book questions the rationale for this, aiming to stimulate questions and discussion around common practices and assumptions that concern all of us as educators, while offering insights for adjustments to practice and attitude. Specifically, the book brings together nineteen teachers and practitioners who share their teaching ideas for inclusivity, while identifying the challenges sometimes met when working with those with neurodivergence, difference or dis-ability within normative structures and expectations of performance training, drama studies, live art, academia and professional theater. Each chapter offers research, discussion and teaching experience that values neuro and physio diversity as reflective of humanity in its diverse forms, with possibilities of enriching artistic language, vision and practice.
Importantly, several of the contributors in this book have learning differences or physical dis-abilities themselves, which informs their experience and empathy for others and motivates their approaches. In negotiating their own differences in the world, they have found ways to flourish and to counter their identities as āotherā or as less able or worthy. In each of the chapters, the authors outline their teaching or directing ideas, and in some cases, their own procedures of functioning and succeeding. These chapters include working in the areas of dyslexia ā dyspraxia ā visual impairment ā hearing impairment ā learning and physical disabilities4 ā aphantasia (no image or inner eye) ā autistic spectrum ā ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) ā the politics of inclusion and exclusion in actor training ā supporting neurodivergence and physical difference within the student cohort ā changes in curriculum for inclusivity.
Many of the authors in this book are sharing their teaching ideas and philosophies for the first time, disseminating their unique research and experience. For some this has been a straightforward task. Others have had to search deeply within themselves to find the words to articulate their practice onto the page, fueled by Paulo Freireās principle of conscientization, a critical awareness of oneself and behavior, and being conscious about the object in question (Freire 1996: 61).
The subject of diversity has received a great deal of attention recently, particularly in the Black Lives Matter movement and the call for a decolonization of the curriculum in higher education and performance institutions, in removing oppressive bases of power (Adebayo et al. 2020). I am conscious of the dangers in speaking too lightly about a ādecolonization of the curriculum,ā which some have criticized as a convenient buzzword in education (Appleton 2019; Tuck and Wayne Yang 2012). Others describe decolonization as a fundamental aim in ādisrupting and dismantling established hierarchies and the hidden curriculumā (Arday 2020). Expressing a view that underpins this present volumeās approach, Juliana Ojinnaka stated in a āDecolonizing our Institutionsā webinar (University College Union, UK 2020) that ādecolonization can include all those that have been suppressed and made powerlessā ā and therefore āincludes groups of multiple genders, women, class, sexualitiesā [disabilities] and āhow they have shared the world, and the world shared them.ā The word ādisabilitiesā has been added to Ojinnakaās list by myself. The inclusion of those with disabilities is sometimes overlooked in decolonization discussions. In analyzing the politics of American actor training, Victoria Lewis noted:
Because disability is still not universally understood as a civil rights initiative, the colonial past of arts experiences for disabled youth might have escaped your notice. Motivated by charity ā āhelping the unfortunateā ā rather than fairness or equity, the common colonial model of theatrical instruction for disabled people has been one of nondisabled caregivers, some theatrical professionals [ā¦] offering performing arts as a recreational and normalizing activity for segregated, institutionalized groups [ā¦]. The difficulty is that the visibility of such programs makes the idea of a disabled youth seeking competitive training in the arts almost unthinkable.
(Unpublished version of Lewis 2010)
Goodley et al. (2020) have called for an intersectionality in critical disability studies that pulls together disability with black, trans, feminist, green and queer political analysis, āsensitive to the ways in which race, ethnicity and disability merge together in moments of power and oppressionā (2020: 3ā4). (For links with Black Lives Matter and being a person of color in this book, see Ronan, Chapter 10.)
Removing the Barriers to Difference and Disability
In the contemporary context of embracing diversity, inclusivity and social justice (in education and out in the world), it is accepted that there is the need for equality of opportunity and āreasonable adjustmentsā (UK5). These adjustments must āreasonably accommodateā our students with differences and ensure they are not discriminated against or disadvantaged in their educational opportunities (USA and Australia6). Some regard the concepts of āreasonable adjustmentsā and āaccommodationā as ableist notions, implying that efforts have to be made for individuals with differences to be āpressed into the mold of the normalā (Goggin and Newell in Dolmage 2017: 84). However, within the context of this volume, these terms mean removing unnecessary barriers, which impede the progress, abilities and well-being of those who have much to contribute outside of the narrow, normative model. My purpose, as the initiator and editor of, and contributor to this book, is to address the scarcity of disseminated research and teaching strategies in these areas, and to provide exemplars of reasonable adjustments and accommodations, as described by the authors in the following chapters. The book takes a radical inclusive education perspective toward the individualās ābecoming-in-the-world-with-others,ā through their gaining of educational opportunities and interaction in the social context. According to Greenstein, radical inclusive pedagogy argues for educators taking a ādis-ability perspectiveā in education; that is one that does not create provision for ādisabledā students, but one that recognizes that we are all differently embodied and positioned in the world (Greenstein 2016: 133ā134).
The actor Mat Fraser was born with phocomelia (underdeveloped arms caused by the drug thalidomide) and is the first dis/abled actor to play Shakespeareās Richard III in the UK, directed by Barrie Rutter, with Northern Broadsides Theatre Company in 2017. A Guardian newspaper review of the production commented: āFraser is a uniquely compelling performer [ā¦] Fraser plays on his outsider status brilliantly, creating a sense of a man bitterly aware that he will never fit inā (Hickling 2017). Belonging to a group that has yet to āfit inā and to be fully accepted in professional employment in performance and actor training, Fraser has publicly called for change and equality for disabled actors (Wiegand 2020). He argues for more students with disabilities to be accepted into performance training courses, with an annual quota, āto level the field.ā He predicts that āit would be very much worth itā as āthere will be many [ā¦] who are trained, good, disabled and readyā (Fraser in Masso 2018).
In 2018, The Stage newspaper, in the UK, reported on a survey that stated:
[R]esearch conducted by The Stage has revealed the extent of under-representation of disabled students at the UKās leading drama schools. Last year, just 1% of graduates from major drama schools declared a physical impairment ā covering mobility, sight or hearing impairments. The most up-to-date government figures, from 2016, state that 11% of people in the general population declared a mobility impairment, 3% declared a vision impairment and 3% had a hearing impairment.
(Masso 2018)
In their book on Learning Disability and Contemporary Theatre, Palmer and Hayhow declare:
Barred from conventional university theatre and performance departments [ā¦] and barred too from vocational drama schools because these actors do not fit easily within the traditional training model, the aspiring actor who has a learning disability has almost no access to appropriate training.
(Palmer and Hayhow 2008:176ā178)
Although there are instances of changes happening in some areas (Mackey and Terret 2015), the situation in 2021 in the United Kingdom has not changed very much. In consideration of actor training beyond the UK, Deric McNishās chapter āTraining Actors with Disabilitiesā (2018: 139ā156) describes the current situation for those with disabilities in the USA. (McNish specializes in acting, voice, speech training and interdisciplinary teaching and learning.) McNish highlights that in American universities in the last 25 years, the number of students declaring disabilities has more than tripled, and that these students face significant challenges on performance courses at universities. He gives examples of people with disabilities being rejected from acceptance onto acting courses, deemed as āunsuitable,ā describing those who make these decisions of keeping them out, as the āgatekeepers.ā He goes on to give examples of the barriers these students can face if accepted onto acting courses, and provides a list of recommendations for best practice. In alignment with the purpose of this volume, McNish states that āan instructor that hopes to create a course that is accessible to all students must go further, critically analyzing and modifying systems that have been passed from teacher to student for generationsā (McNish 2018: 153). Similarly, Victoria Lewis has also written about her experiences as someone with a disability in the United States, as a professional actor and theater educator. In her chapter āDisability and Access: A Manifesto for Actor Trainingā (2010:179), Lewis states:
In my experience as a working actress, producer, and theatre educator for the past 30 years, in theatres ranging from grassroots to Equity, and in venues from street fairs to prime-time television, I have found that these two positions ā one, that the disabled actor is unemployable; and, two, that physically disabled actors will not be able to master significant areas of actor training-- are still widely held, if seldom publicly proclaimed.
Lewis further comments, ābut on closer analysis [ā¦] these practices are based not in reality but on assumptions, myths about both the disabled p...
