When I returned to front of house at People’s Light in 2017, I learned about a delightful thing they had started doing called a relaxed performance.
Relaxed performances are super incredible. They are designed to give people who normally wouldn’t be able to experience live theatre that opportunity. People with neurodivergent or sensory issues, autism, and other such things get to watch a play on their terms. The house lights are on, sounds and lights onstage are dimmed and lessened. Audience members are encouraged to walk around if they need to, as well as wear sunglasses or headphones as needed. In the lobby, they keep out fidget toys, and make bathrooms family accessible. People’s Light also has ASL translators there.
It’s the most wonderful thing. I’ve been in theatre my whole life, and I had never seen anything like it. It was something I quickly took to, and for many years, I worked every RP. I love the idea of theatre for everyone. Theatre is one of those things that should be for everyone. And even in its early stages, RPs are doing just that. They’re getting more and more widespread, both in the area and beyond.
As someone who has worked many RPs, I can say there’s nothing like it. Watching people come through who may be experiencing theatre for the first time in their lives, or one of the first times in their lives, is fulfilling. It always made me feel proud to be a part of this. It made me want to do what I could to continue to be a part of this process. And now that I’m not able to be at RPs, I definitely really miss working them.
Luckily, I still have a part to play. I don’t get to do as much at People’s Light as I would like now that I have a full time job. But what I do get to do is write the pre-show guides for the relaxed performances. Pre-show guides are great, and enhance the experience for RPs. They contain basic information like a history of the show, terms that might pop up regularly, character profiles, and themes.
Writing these guides isn’t necessarily easy. I need to use the right language to get my point across, and to explain what people can look out for while they’re watching the show. The finished product is beautiful, with wonderful graphics and pictures from the show. My end? A simple document and lots of passion.
The whole process is wonderful. I see a show during preview week. I sit in the back with the production staff, with a dim flashlight and a small notebook to take notes in. I usually end up with a page or two of messy scrawls…terms, themes, the things that I want to put into my guide. It’s sort of exhilarating, as it really makes me feel like a part of things. I also have to make sure I can interpret what I write, which can definitely be a bit tricky. I try not to limit myself by lines or anything linear. It’s both a good thing and a bad thing, but I’ve found a way to make it work.
Watching a show in preparation for writing a pre-show guide is very different from watching a show in a typical fashion. I find myself paying attention to different things. I think about what is going to be the most important information to share. I scribble down anything I think might be good, because I’d rather have a lot to pick from rather than feeling like I don’t have enough.
I’m not saying I don’t enjoy watching a show while taking notes on the guide, just that it’s a different lens. I think it actually adds a lot more to the experience. Not only am I watching a show for me, I’m watching it for other people as well. I get to try and watch a show through other people’s eyes, and what I’m doing for them makes a difference.
Even for me, there are things that are super surprising, and makes me grateful to be doing this sort of work. In the show Grand Horizons, a truck crashes through a wall at the end of Act 1. I certainly wasn’t expecting that. But it was a very important thing to put in the guide. It’s the sort of thing that could be overwhelming to someone with sensory issues. We want to make sure they’re prepared for that, so they can take necessary precautions.
This is a type of theatre that is ever evolving, and it’s a wonderful type of theatre. As someone who has been a part of it for many years, I truly can’t wait to see where it goes, and for other theatres, both in my area and beyond, to pick up on it and make it part of their theatre going experience as well. Theatre should always be for everyone, and through relaxed performances, we can truly make it so.
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