‘A place for everyone’

When Lucy Mattout was growing up, she and her best friend auditioned for a theater group. While Mattout was accepted easily, her friend–who was in a wheelchair–encountered many obstacles before he was cast in a show.

“I saw how much he struggled to get into a group because he was in a wheelchair and they thought he wasn’t able to do things,” said Mattout. Her experience inspired her to become the director of the performing arts program at Yachad Chicago–an organization that connects people with disabilities to Jewish life experiences. “I knew how much talent he had, but how little people believed in him. That really struck me and inspired me to do a lot for people to be treated the same, especially in the arts.”

Last year, Mattout started the Ralla Klepak Performing Arts Program, which was designed to be inclusive. During the yearlong program, participants learned about a variety of theater-related tasks–including singing, acting, and designing sets and costumes–before choosing how to get involved. The program culminated with a production of the musical Newsies with adaptations ensuring everyone could participate.

People who struggled with fine motor skills offered design ideas. People with social anxiety who didn’t want to perform found a place in making costumes. And an actor who couldn’t read memorized lines by having people repeat them to him.

The show was full of “very heartwarming” moments that “showed how much people were helping each other,” Mattout said.

Becca Canastra, a full-time music therapist at Niles Township District for Special Education, also sees the sense of community formed in inclusive artistic programming. “Music is the great equalizer,” said Canastra, who also teaches piano to kids of all abilities and provides music therapy through Keshet–a JUF partner serving people with developmental and learning challenges. “Making music with others helps us feel like we belong. Opportunities that allow all participants to make music together create a space where genuine friendships can develop naturally.”

One of Keshet’s major programs, an inclusive choir, includes people of various ages who come from many states with a variety of skillsets and challenges–including people who are non-speaking. “No matter how a person communicates, they can still benefit from the sense of community that is created through making music together,” Canastra said.

Keshet features a variety of musical programs for people of all abilities, including after-school and summer camp music therapy. The agency also offers outings for people of all abilities to experience musical and theatrical performances–something that Lookingglass Theatre Company staff are eager to provide.

In order for all patrons to enjoy the show, Lookingglass offers accessible seating, assistive listening devices for every mainstage performance, and large-print programs. One performance of each show features an audio describer narrating the actors’ movements and elements of set design to patrons wearing single-ear headphones. A professionally trained captioner types spoken and sung words, sound effects, and other audio elements of the play on an LED display above the stage.

Lookingglass also offers a unique program called Touch Tours where visually impaired theatergoers can feel costumes and props, learn about their construction from the stage manager and designers, and meet actors who describe themselves to the patrons.

When ensemble member and Director of Community Engagement Andy White describes himself for a show, he offers his name, height, details about his costume, and how it helps him portray the character, and a few sample lines in an accent if he is using one. “Those patrons really get a sensory experience of the production,” he said.

These measures, and the inclusivity of programs offered by Yachad, Keshet, and others, recall one of Mattout’s vehement beliefs: “Theater has a place for everyone.”

For more information about the Ralla Klepak Performing Arts Program, visit yachad.org/rkpap. For more information about Keshet, visit keshet.org. For more information about Lookingglass Theatre, visit lookingglasstheatre.org.