Using Applied Theater to Interrogate Disability With an Integrated Cast

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Practices and Disability Studies in Education

Abstract

This study documents the work of a professional integrated cast (disabled and nondisabled actors) who reassembled to explore the meaning of disability through applied theatre practice. The actors participated in three workshops to 1) unpack and reflect upon their prior experiences working as an integrated cast; 2) explore new possibilities through applied theatre for working as an integrated cast; 3) share their expertise with a small group of teaching artists and middle school teachers preparing to facilitate integrated casts for the first time. Based on evidence gathered through participant writing samples, videotapes of workshops, audiotaped group reflections, and post-interviews with select participants, I discuss how the cast interrogated disability through aesthetic distance, exploration of language and disability, and integrated theatre-making.

Author

• Jan W. Valle, City College of New York - CUNY