Creating autistic space in ability-inclusive sensory theatre

ABSTRACT

Ability-Inclusive Sensory Theatre (AIST) is an emerging genre of Theatre for Young Audiences which serves young people with autism and other cognitive disabilities. Distinct from sensory friendly or relaxed performances, these productions build the entire aesthetic experience to cater to an audience with sensory differences. The space created in these productions mirror the social concept of “autistic space” in which the needs of people on the autism spectrum inform the physical and social design of the environment. This article explores how AIST productions create autistic space through script development, audience engagement, immersive design, soft transitions, sensory objects, and an audience-centric dramaturgy.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ Members of Autism Network International, inspired by the Deaf community, prefer to be called “Autistic” rather than a person with autism, because they believe that person-first ordering implies that autism is a negative trait which must be separated from the Autistic person (Silberman 2015, 441) I will use the term “Autistic” for individuals who have expressed a desire to be identified as such, and continue to use “person with autism” at other points in this paper to follow current standards.

² Having a publicly-available generalized social story about coming to the theatre has quickly become best practice in the TYA community. Most AIST productions try to create a more specific social story for the production which includes pictures of the characters in costume, the performance space, transition areas, and sometimes major plot points.

³ The ethical inclusion of observers is a difficult and nuanced topic. I plan to write on this issue in an in-depth way in the future.