Scarlet Masque Theatre Journal New Beginnings and Fond Farewells Vol. 1 | Page 95

children mimic and comprehend different facial expressions for emotions and improve
their communication skills through Shakespearean characters (Hunter, 2013). For
example, Hunter might “throw” at her students a “Bottom-suprised face at being turned
into a donkey” (Hunter, 2013). The children respond by trying to mimic the surprised
look of Hunter as she portrays Bottom’s emotional experience. Her program was recently
tested by Ohio State University. Their most recent published study indicates that the
therapy “ shows promise in improving the social and communicative functioning of
children with autism spectrum disorder” (Mehling et al., 2016).
VI.
“Camp Yes” and “Building Connections at The Hideout Theater” (Indiana
University; Austin, TX)
The camp’s purpose is to help teenagers with ASD learn basic communication
and social skills that can lessen distress. Many ASD exit high school without the necessary
communication skills to make a transition to higher education environments. Camp Yes aims to
provide these teenagers with safe and healthy ways of practicing real-life and commonplace
social situations through improvisation (​ Ansaldo, J., & Hopf, R., 2016). Educators are also
welcomed to the camp as a means of learning their method and spreading its therapeutic benefits
across the country.
Discussion
The line between artistic and therapeutic-minded theater organizations is hazy. In some
years certain organizations would have been more artistic-minded like Trinity Rep, but as
priorities change so do categorization. Most organizations regardless of their focus acknowledge
theater as an important tool in helping manage many of the impairments of ASD. Theater is the
social art medium. It encapsulates a creative and imaginative environment where young students
with ASD can be themselves while also learning how to deal with some of their impairments. In
addition, all of these programs and organizations were founded in the last ten years. The
relationship between theater and autism is still very young.
The Reality Room Theater Company aspires to be a artistic-minded organization when
dealing with artists with ASD. We believe in elevating honest and pure voices in our art. One
reason for this is that RRTC does not prioritize staffing itself with special education teachers.
Many organizations with therapeutic-minded purposes either a) have a bedrock of special
education trained staff or b) maintain professional partnerships with organizations that do. The
latter scenario is far more likely for RRTC. Secondly, RRTC believes in the established
theatrical philosophies of Peter Brook and Jerzy Grotowski. The company wishes to act as a
laboratory for theater and by extension a space for development and research in human
communication. 5 Studies support theater as a helpful device for improving communication and
social skills. We hope to elevate the voice of the ASD community through equality based
inclusive practices.
There are some challenges. Socio-behavioral and communicate differences between
artists with ASD and without ASD, especially when considering severity, could be major
hurdles. For example, we currently operate a youth improv troupe for students in Montgomery
County. One of our participants is a very high-functioning actor with ASD. He offers a different
perspective for many of our other actors. Through improvisation he learns to think “outside of
5
This includes building more empathetic communities, elevating marginalized voices, reversing political polarization, etc.