![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/04112024-6962-1.jpg\")
Dr. Rebecca Monteleone, an assistant professor in the Disability Studies Program and the UToledo facilitator of the Open Spot Partnership, runs through lines with members of the theater group.<\/p><\/div>\n
The free, public performance that sees Jacob Goda, a junior in the Toledo Transition Program, and Lindsay Hinds, a social work junior, onstage as a pair of cowboys is the culmination of a new class this semester, Disability and Theatre: Applying Theory to Practice. Cross-listed in the Department of Theatre and Film and the Disability Studies Program, and run in collaboration with OpenSpot Theatre in Detroit, Disability and Theatre brings together undergraduate students and community members with intellectual and developmental disabilities to explore issues of access and inclusion in theater.<\/p>\n
“The Audition\u201d is staged at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 25, in UToledo\u2019s Center for Performing Arts Center Theatre. A talk-back with actors and a reception will immediately follow.<\/p>\n
Visitor parking requires payment through the ParkMobile app, a parking meter or a daily permit via ParkUToledo. Visit the ParkUToledo website<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n \u201cTheater tends to assume a certain kind of body and a certain kind of mind, and that means a lot of people don’t get a lot of opportunities to perform,\u201d said Dr. Rebecca Monteleone, who teaches the course as an assistant professor in the Disability Studies Program. \u201cDisability and Theatre is one way to meet what we can clearly see is a demand for accessible and inclusive opportunities in the performing arts.\u201d<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just about the benefits to performers, she continued.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a value for the audience in placing people with disabilities front and center in this way,\u201d she said. \u201cThe audience members are able to develop a better sense of who is in our community and the value that everyone brings.\u201d<\/p>\n Approximately 30 actors are in the cast for \u201cThe Audition,\u201d an original comedy based on characters and ideas that performers workshopped with facilitators from OpenSpot Theatre. OpenSpot specializes in creative, accessible and inclusive theater programming.<\/p>\n OpenSpot previously worked with the Department of Theatre and Film and the Disability Studies Program on a six-week, non-credit workshop for students and community members that culminated in another original production, \u201cReal Magic,\u201d in October 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cWe love working with The University of Toledo,\u201d said Katie Mann, co-founder of OpenSpot. \u201cSince 2012 we’ve been a mobile theater for people with disabilities. We work with communities all over the Midwest, teaching people how to sing, dance and act. This show, in particular, is one to look out for. With the added support of UToledo and the added weeks of practice, it’s sure to be a showstopper.\u201d<\/p>\n Approximately one-third of the performers are enrolled in Disability and Theatre for credit. They gather ahead of once-a-week rehearsals to dig into issues of access and inclusion as they apply to theater, as well as tools intended to widen the pool of those who partake.<\/p>\n One student is scripting a statement introducing what is known as a relaxed performance.\u00a0 The statement is read ahead of the performance to assure the audience that this need not be the sit-still-and-be-quiet experience they might associate with other live performances. Others are exploring open captioning systems or tactile tours that invite patrons, including those who are blind and low vision, to interact with sets, props and costumes.<\/p>\n Students are joined after their classroom sessions for rehearsals by community members with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Many were invited to participate via OpenSpot and the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities.<\/p>\n Goda and Hinds are among the students who participate in both sessions.<\/p>\n Goda, whose most recent theatrical credit came when he was a student at St. Mary Central Catholic High School in Monroe, Michigan, learned about the opportunity through Toledo Transition, a non-degree certificate program for young adult students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n It seemed like an ideal fit, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI love the happiness and joy and the smiles on people\u2019s faces,\u201d Goda said. \u201cIt brightens my day. And most importantly, these are my people. I love acting, I love singing, I love playing guitar. That\u2019s why I wanted to take this class.\u201d<\/p>\n Hinds, who is minoring in Disability Studies, has been a theater enthusiast since her eighth-grade debut in a school production of \u201cMary Poppins.\u201d<\/p>\n She spoke similarly about her experience with Disability and Theatre.<\/p>\n \u201cI look forward to this class every week,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been such a great experience to make theater more inclusive at UToledo, and not only for people with disabilities. The goal is to make sure that everyone feels like they\u2019re welcome in this space.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The free, public performance of “The Audition\u201d is at 6 p.m. in UToledo\u2019s Center for Performing Arts Center Theatre. A talk-back with actors and a reception will immediately follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":908,"featured_media":85875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,60,73,5,581,1,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85874"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/908"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85874"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85877,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85874\/revisions\/85877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/04112024-6962-1-150x150.jpg\")
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