The Royal River Community Players Will Present the Accessible Stages Collaborative

The Royal River Community Players will present the Accessible Stages Collaborative, a new professional development opportunity designed to advance Accessible Stage Productions throughout Maine. Accessible Stage Productions are shows in which people from a wide variety of backgrounds, with and without disabilities, collaborate as equals to stage a production. The Accessible Stages Collaborative brings together theater professional David Sheehy, occupational therapist Jessica Walton, and Michaela Knox, Executive Director of Spark Inclusive Arts. The team has joined forces with RRCP to develop this program and make it available at no cost to theaters across the state.

The Accessible Stages Collaborative will provide training, resources, and expertise to community, professional, and educational theaters, empowering them to stage productions that emphasize accessibility and inclusivity, particularly for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities and people who may not have historically felt welcome in the performing arts. The program focuses on communication techniques, directing styles, and inclusive policies, ensuring meaningful participation for performers with diverse backgrounds and skills.

Sheehy has worked with several local theaters on Accessible Stage Productions and is serving as the project's lead. Sheehy, who directed his first Accessible Stage Production in 2023, has been helping community theaters expand accessibility ever since.

Speaking about the initiative, Sheehy shared, "Theater has profoundly shaped my life, and I believe it can do the same for so many others if they're given the chance. Individuals with disabilities deserve these same transformative experiences, and our community theaters should reflect and include the full diversity of the communities they serve."

RRCP's current Accessible Stage Production of Footloose the Musical - Youth Edition, set to open September 5th, serves as a practical testing ground for the Accessible Stages Collaborative. The production team and cast have been enthusiastically applying the program's techniques, with their observations, responses and feedback providing key insights that will help other organizations enhance their inclusivity efforts.

"RRCP's work on Footloose the Musical is transforming our Accessible Stages Collaborative curriculum," said Sheehy. "Our collaborators are observing rehearsals and learning a lot about best practices in working with a group of people with varying abilities and disabilities, assets and challenges. It has helped us find concrete ways to assist production team members who may not have experience working with a population with diverse needs. The team's openness to feedback in their approach to theater-making has allowed our content experts to dive in at times and make a difference in the process."

The Accessible Stages Collaborative will offer two free online workshops for theater groups seeking practical advice on building inclusive productions. The first session, Pathways to Inclusion: Integrating Accessibility and Inclusive Practices into Theater Programming, is set for Monday, September 15th, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM and will address ways to incorporate inclusive values into a theater's mission. The second session, Accessible Stage Productions: Building the Unified Experience, scheduled for Monday, September 29th, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, will explore hands-on techniques for starting and running inclusive productions.

"Our goal is to arm theaters with straightforward solutions and guidance to make their productions accessible for all," Sheehy added. "Theaters that embrace inclusive principles unlock new possibilities in the ways they produce, perform, and collaborate."

The project is supported by funding from the Onion Foundation. Holly Taylor of the Onion Foundation emphasized the importance of this work, stating, "The Onion Foundation recognizes Royal River Community Players' Accessible Stages Collaborative as an important investment in expanding live theater participation for people living with disabilities. We applaud RRCP's commitment to this work, making meaningful strides towards a culture of belonging in the arts in Maine!"