When I started physical theatre school a year after having basically my entire spine surgically relocated, one of my classmates was quick to say, \u201cWhen we study Commedia Dell\u2019arte, there will be certain things you can\u2019t do. You probably couldn\u2019t do Arlecchino.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For context, Arlecchino is a stock character known for acrobatics and over the top physicality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I did eventually play Arlecchino. I ultimately found a character I felt more at home with, but I still did it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be honest, that comment pissed me off. I put that Arlecchino mask on out of pure spite. It also pisses me off when I struggle to nail a dance skill because of my back and somebody says \u201cjust don\u2019t do that one.\u201d Or when I go to a yoga class and somebody finds out my spine is full of metal and held together with rope, and they automatically recommend an easier class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I want to make this very clear: when somebody with a medical condition, disability, or any other need tries to do something, the answer should never be \u201cjust don\u2019t do it.\u201d They should never be sent out of the room. The choice to participate in an activity is theirs, not yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer to a theatre student healing from a back surgery is not to deny them the opportunity to learn the same things as everyone else. The answer to somebody who needs an accommodation to play a character is not that they shouldn\u2019t play that character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creative spaces have evolved to be exclusive. Our culture has historically included Disabled folks from public life, including the arts, so industry norms have not evolved to meet diverse needs. When we send somebody away because their bodies or minds don\u2019t meet our standards, we are perpetuating that exclusion. We become the oppressors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I push back against meeting access needs in performing arts spaces, I hear a lot of \u201cwe can\u2019t compromise our creative vision\u201d or \u201cit has to be this way.\u201d But\u2026does it really? Or is that just what\u2019s easiest for those who hold power in the space? Just because something is doesn’t mean it has to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Excluding someone does not preserve creativity. To paraphrase disability activists Terry Galloway and Donna Marie Nudd, what it actually does is demonstrate that you are not or do not want to be creative enough to come up with a solution. If we can make an entire show from scratch, we can problem solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am a stubborn person and I show up in a lot of spaces where people aren\u2019t expecting someone like me, and sometimes where they don\u2019t want me. And I won\u2019t leave to make things easier on those who don\u2019t have to question whether they belong in the space. I value creativity too much to throw it out like that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When I started physical theatre school a year after having basically my entire spine surgically relocated, one of my classmates was quick to say, \u201cWhen we study Commedia Dell\u2019arte, there will be certain things you can\u2019t do. You probably couldn\u2019t do Arlecchino.\u201d For context, Arlecchino is a stock character known for acrobatics and over the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2284,"featured_media":25958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1334],"tags":[387,2163,2164,2162,614,420],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27159,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27158\/revisions\/27159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}