Autism/Asperger's on Broadway?

[ThatDirectorGuy]

Posted: 12/1/13 at 9:41pm

As you may be able to tell by my username, I am a director. What you may not know about me is that I have a mild form of autism which is either exactly Asperger's or very close to it (exact diagnoses can be a bit tricky with the spectrum). And so I'm curious, be it actor, director, stage manager, etc., have there been any known cases of someone with autism or Asperger's working on the Great White Way? It's something I definitely want to try to aim for at some point, as I think many directors do, and I'm curious to see if those with my mindframe have had such success in any field.

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 12/1/13 at 11:21pm

I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome 19 year ago (long before it was the token diagnosis for many mental health conditions), or highly functioning Autism if you prefer to go the DSM-V route.

ANYWAY, I have a minor in dance and performed in multiple concerts and performances with the college of fine arts at a fairly prestigious university when I was in my undergrad years. Dance and performing, to some extent, were areas of obsession for me. I fixated on them. I would have my track memorized in a weekend and have pages of pages of notes for people who frequently didn't want them. I had difficulty working with directors, choreographers, and other cast mates because one of my biggest deficits is picking up on body language and facial expressions. I just didn't get it. The more involved I became, the more typical it became for me to give notes to multiple members of the company describing what they can do to help me. Some took it to heart, some threw it in the trash. Right out of college, I spent about a year auditioning before deciding to try a different career. My disability didn't make that process any easier. So much of the city was a place that overwhelmed my senses…calls were that magnified. Intensive CBT and close work with a therapist made all of this possible.

Off the top of my head, I can't say, "Oh, actor X is an Aspie," as I only know 2 currently working actors well enough to ask them that and neither are. There's definitely some quirky actors and directors on broadway, but I don't know if anyone would be able to say if anyone specifically has ASD as it's not something most actors discuss in interviews.

Deanna Jent wrote a play that was produced at Minette Lane Theatre a year or 2 ago that was about an autistic 18 year old man. It was called "Falling" and Julia Murney was breathtaking in it as the man's mother. The playing was moving and realistic, a credit to Deanna Jent.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 12/2/13 at 9:22am

Sticking strictly to performers, not all of whom have done theater, I can name off the top of my head:

Dan Aykroyd
Daryl Hannah
Lizzy Clark
Paddy Considine

If you expand the field into music, that adds a few more:

Adam Young (Owl City)
Craig Nicholls (The Vines)
Gary Numan
James Durbin (American Idol 10th season finalist)
Phillipa "Pip" Brown (a/k/a Ladyhawke)
Travis Meeks (Days of the New)

Also, Satoshi Tajiri, who created and designed Pokemon.

So there's that.