Beyond the audience: Creating effective engagement strategies for students on the spectrum in the theatre classroom

Historically, theatre and dance have had challenging relationships with disability to say the least. This challenge stems from ableist perspectives that fail to consider specific needs and experiences of persons with disabilities. At all levels, from youth education to training and professional performance, opportunities are limited. Often, performing arts engagement is limited to audience seats for individuals with disabilities, more frequently this focus is on relaxed performances geared toward those identified as autistic. As the prevalence of autism diagnoses have increased, theatre and dance course engagement, specifically youth engagement, which is shown to have life-long positive impacts and predict regular and contined arts engagement, must be determined. Through an observational study, emphasizing autism research and theatre and dance classroom practices, student engagement was measured against curriculum and course planning. Through this strengthened understanding of engagement, theatre and dance curriculum can be planned to engage students on the spectrum. In building an equitable foundation for engagement, autistic students will be better equipped and prepared to move beyond audience seats.