RE: Access to Training in Theatre and Performance in Drama Departments and Drama Schools for students with disabilities
“The symposium marks the end of collaboration between Graeae Theatre Company and the CSSD, funded by the Arts Council England and CETT. The aim of the day was to identify three main areas: where people with disabilities are accessing training in Universities and Drama Schools; ways of making assessment and curriculum inclusive; and attitudinal barriers to training opportunities for physically and sensory impaired disabled artists.”
Claire Hodgson, Chief Executive of Diverse City highlighted in her introduction that in response to the Symposium, change in the industry must occur and therefore more people with disabilities employed. However, she emphasised that this will only occur by action and participation in events such as this. The keynote speaker, Dr Colette Conroy, a Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway University of London followed and presented her ideology: “Ubiquity and Exception or What can disability teach us about the way that we think?” According to Collette disability exceeds narrow boundaries; for theatre makers, participants and audience there is a political and aesthetic gap, merely fortified by the incorrect reference of a disabled artist as participatory – this is aesthetic. For Collette “Theatre without disability is theatre without human bodies” – a rhetoric statement, but a pertinent one nonetheless. She reinforces this with the philosophy of Ranciere who believes the process of emancipation is theatre; equality is not to be obtained, but a point of departure, a supposition. Theatre should represent the world it serves and therefore should incorporate all people within training for theatre. However on reflection, Collette draws attention to the word “incorporate” which she compares to inviting the ugly kid to join in; and so she suggests that perhaps the language we use can also be a problem. The term “Diversity” could depict a socially excluded person, which consequently explains the world as though we are suppressed by a dominant culture. As a result, a shifting of aesthetic habits must occur. On a more controversial note Collette refers to the ideas of Andrew Brighton, critic and curator who sees the Art Council as a government agency for social cohesion within the arts. Colette provided the example: if Hamlet is a wheelchair user – disability will be the focus of the production. Unfortunately some audience members see only the disability and not the art and on occasion feel disadvantaged even mislead by the company. Therefore this highlights the need to develop a culture of reception. Politically the action of inclusion is achieved when a disable person is employed.
David Toole followed Collette and talked from a “Personal Perspective”. David a dancer; actor; choreographer; and dance workshop teacher is a wheelchair user due to having no legs, but David demonstrated that he can get around very well using his hands and arms. David has been performing for 17 years. As a child he attended a school for disabled children – mainstream schooling was not an option. He knew he liked to show off and when his music teacher introduced him to the school play, he realised performing was the way for him, but as to how or where, David was unsure. So his education continued at an FE College where he studied Maths for 2 years and continued on through a Government Youth Opportunity Scheme. This led him to a Computing Course at Leeds University, until he was reunited with his music teacher in 1992 who gave him a leaflet regarding a dance workshop with CandoCo. He never looked back and during his time with CandoCo he also attended a Community Dance course at LABAN, on a placement specifically for a disabled student, but at that time neither party knew how to behave or react. David toured with CandoCo for six years and has since worked with DV8, Graeae and the RSC. In reaction to his training he was asked how he recommended others to train – he honestly admitted he couldn’t answer the question as he had not travelled that route himself, he learned mostly on the job and declares that nothing can replace genuine experience – one may have the best technique, but no personality.
Rachel Bagshaw, the Training and Learning projects Manager at Graeae Theatre Company moved on to discuss the link between what she described – the two previous political and personal overviews. Graeae aims to make both performance and theatre accessible; they desire to train those with disabilities, which is essentially self-serving; and accordingly seek to increase the visibility and profile of disabled artists. With regards to their training course, they run a one year accredited training programme in conjunction with London Met. However, even they admit that identifying disabled youth is difficult as there are still practical and attitudinal issues to consider. Bearing this in mind, in 2007 they committed to a Project called “Into the Scene” funded by the Arts Council working with both RBC and CSSD, in the hope to reflect the following issues: marketing; outreach; audition process; admissions; administrative staff – essentially reviewing visibility campaigns; diversity; staff training, lack of experience, assessment criteria, the perceived lack of employment within the industry; and a lack of positive role models. Throughout the project groups worked exclusively with various disabled groups in order to ascertain how to overcome problems of accessibility. While access to drama training has improved over the years, the Project manager for “In to the Scene” concluded that one must rethink their teaching objective and then be imaginative as to how the objective can be made accessible to all, although one must continue to recognise that every student is different and every situation is unique.
The morning ended with a roundtable chaired by Dr Sally Mackey of the CSSD with Sophie Partridge – Performer and writer; Prof. Linda Fitzsimmons – Dean of Arts and Humanities Oxford Brookes University; Jonathon Neelands – Chair of Drama and Theatre Education University of Warwick; Tom Thomasson – Performer; and Jenny Sealey – Artistic Director of Graeae. The panel discussed their experiences in models of good practice from widening participation to training. Linda Fitzsimmons had a colleague with a profoundly deaf student; however the need to teach her inclusively improved her colleagues practice as well as the engagement of students. Jenny Sealey also experienced a performer called Pete who worked with Graeae. Despite being a wonderful performer, due to a speech impediment Pete needed a creative person to work alongside him – who ultimately became his creative voice enabler. Although they explored the avenues for his voice enabler to engage in the creative process the empowerment was left with Pete. Unfortunately Jonathon Neelands has not had such positive experiences and brooches the topic of integration vs. segregation. The panel were therefore asked “What can move us on?” Sophie Partridge a wheelchair user acknowledges the concept of segregation, but in reference to one particular experience – when a stand-in tutor began a Yoga class he recognised her disability by “for those that can” – Sophie identified this as recognition not segregation.
The discussion from the panel was then opened to the floor. It was identified that organisations must reassess who the courses are designed for and who benefits from them. However a poignant question was posed: “how do people experience their identity and how does that manifest in their work?” Perhaps this is a consideration more than a question, but a question to reflect on for both tutors and admission staff. The symposium conceded that there are problems with assessment criteria, but it was enquired as to how one tackles this at application. Conceivably the notion of standards/excellence should be changed since one cannot measure those with a disability against the “norm” – in fact no one should be measured in such a way. Therefore there needs to be a half way and the politics of perception changed or even the audition process scrapped. Returning to the panel Jenny admits that in her naivety she just does not “get it” for her nothing says “Juliet” was not a wheelchair user. As the discussion came to an end it was highlighted that too much focus is placed on performance and technical theatre itself has been somewhat excluded within the debate. However, it was suggested that the objective for schools should be to think outside the box in terms of assessment, while acknowledging that lecturers do not always have the knowledge or support they need. Therefore it seems theatre and performer differentiation can only be resolved through Collaboration.
In relation to Rose Bruford College the Symposium highlighted no more than already discussed during the previous Equality and Diversity Meeting and continued conversations. With this in mind it seems Rose Bruford is at the forefront of training for students with disability. Despite the recent development of a Theatre with Disability degree currently being structured by the partnership of Anglia Ruskin University and theatreresource.org; Rose Bruford College is also in a prominent position – particularly due to the work with Graeae, experience with disabled students and the work of Outreach – for development of a post graduate certificate or degree in Theatre with Disability.
For more information regarding the work of Collette Conroy, access the websites below:
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/Drama/staff/conroy_colette/index.html
http://www.disabilityartsonline.org/home
David Toole:
http://www.dtoole.co.uk/DtooleFrameset.htm
Produced by Samantha Kay (Outreach &Diversity Support Officer) on behalf of Outreach at RBC May 2009