Applied Theatre Center at the Autism Forum

From ATC Executive Director Dale Savidge

It was a pleasure to be a part of the SC Autism Forum on Saturday August 6, 2011 in Greenville SC, representing the Applied Theatre Center. The forum is held every two years and is a networking and resource sharing event for parents and caregivers to people on the autism spectrum. Families, friends, educators and professionals in medicine, social services and the arts participated.



ATC Executive Director Dale Savidge with visitors.

In addition to keynote speakers and workshops, the forum featured an exhibit and resource fair. I learned a lot from the speakers but even more from informal conversations with people attending the forum. Caring for someone with autism is a huge commitment and often adds a great deal of stress to the normal pressures of family, work, school and other ordinary life challenges. Through agencies like the SC Autism Society, among many other support groups, people on the spectrum and their families are provided information and encouragement.

Our booth had a steady stream of interested people. What I learned is that people immediately recognize the value of theatre in the care, education and development of people on the spectrum. I have long recognized the potential of theatre to affect personal and social improvement in audiences and participants, but I assumed I had learned that through graduate study, teaching and experience. This recognition, however, goes to the close relationship between theatre and life which Augusto Boal wrote about in Games for Actors and Non Actors: “We are all theatre, even if we don’t make theatre.”

It doesn’t take a college degree or years of theatre experience to see how applied theatre is a rehearsal for reality (a phrase borrowed from Boal). The Applied Theatre Center is developing ways to connect theatre artists with their community in order to place our wonderful art at the service of the people around us – people who are either not able or not inclined to participate in traditional theatre but who, when given the opportunity, willingly engage in applied theatre and benefit from that experience.

And everyone it seems, whether or not they are trained or experienced in theatre, knows this to be true.

Interview with Track Leader Andrew Nelson

From Marketing Director, Katy Beth Cassell -

Andrew Nelson will once again be leading our Theatre and the Autism Spectrum track at the Applied Theatre Conference June 28-30, 2012, in Greenville, SC! Andrew, founder of the Autism Theatre Network (autismtheatre.org), is a Positive Behavior Support Trainer with the West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University where he provides Family Focused Positive Behavior Support and training to parents, teachers, and professionals on a variety of autism-related topics. He is the author of Foundation Role Plays for Autism (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2010) and his work has been noted in American Theatre, The Autism File and Tathaastu: So Be It magazines. Below are a few questions that I asked him, followed by his answers. Get ready to have your interest peaked in Andrew's work!

KBC: What is your background in theatre? How did you get involved in applied theatre?

AN: I studied acting at the University of Minnesota - Duluth. I loved performing and writing, and really enjoyed learning about unique directors like Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook, Artaud, Meyerhold and others. I was always a very physical actor and loved studying actors like Ryszard Cieslak of the Polish Laboratory Theatre, actors who seemed to use acting as a tool for spiritual expression and psychological development. During acting school I read about people like J. L. Moreno who were blending theatre and psychology in a very special way. This appealed to me and I knew I wanted to do something similar with my life.

When I started working with individuals with autism, I was given the opportunity to experiment with acting techniques as a means to work on self awareness, confidence, and socialization. This changed everything for me. I instantly realized the power of applied theatre. Parasuram Ramamoorthi from Madurai, India taught me a great deal about the precepts and concepts of applied theatre and I have spent the last 5 years or so trying to develop new concepts and a network for people to share ideas (www.autismtheatre.org).

KBC: What applied theatre projects are you currently working on?

AN: I just returned from Pennsylvania where Cindy Schneider (Acting Antics), Chris Nealy (Autism Society of North Carolina), and I spent 7 days training a group from Hong Kong in autism-theatre techniques. From that experience, the three of us have started a new book project together. Also, I am working with actor, mask-maker, and friend of ATC Doug Berky on a project using a set of emotion masks he created. So far the masks have been used for teacher training and will be used with friends on the spectrum starting this fall. Doug and I met at last years "Applied Theatre and Marginalized Communities" conference sponsored by ATC.

KBC: What will you offer in your track at the conference?

AN: I am working with ATC on ideas for next summer's conference. We hope to share some of the new ideas Cindy, Chris, and I are working on. We are also talking about the idea of actually taking participants out on a field experience to put autism-theatre ideas into action in the community. I talk with people often about the 2011 conference, which was tremendously positive. We still actively participate in a Google Group started by participants during the 2011 conference (see www.autismtheatre.org). The 2012 conference will definitely build on the amazing energy generated last year. I hope to see you there! 


Be sure to check out www.appliedtheatrecenter.org to read about all of the tracks that are planned for the 2012 conference!