The Production
Welcome to the world of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time !
This time, of course, on our terms, as an entirely neurodivergent cast and crew of the show
Unfortunately it didn’t end up being entirely on our terms, as the show was canceled less than a week before opening, but we still learned a lot from the process that we are so excited to share with you.
You can find our public statement about the cancellation here.
You can watch our feature-length documentary about the show here.
The History
The original book, written by Mark Haddon and published in 2003, tells the story of a boy using his sleuthing skills to solve a mystery. He is never explicitly stated to be autistic, but every piece of the text makes the intentions very clear. The book was a hit and is used all over the world to educate people about autism. But did you know that Haddon openly admits to doing zero research on autism before writing the book? Did you know that the play, created in 2012, didn’t include a single autistic person in any part of the production? Or that the lead role of Christopher wasn’t played by an actually autistic person until 2017?
You can find a whole discussion on the history of and issues with Curious Incident here
So why did I choose this show?
Despite being, well, the cookie cutter “white boy who likes trains and doing math” description of autism, for the autism community, much like Rain Man, this story is an important part of our past and present. It’s one of those things that made discussions of autism more mainstream, that made people empathize with us more, and, for many autistic people, is the reason we realized we were autistic. So while we know he’s a caricature and a stereotype, Christopher means something to our community in a way.
The show is also still being regularly staged, typically in the most inaccessible manner humanly possible with neurotypical people playing the lead. It has always been my dream to see a show entirely made up of neurodivergent people, both in front of and behind the scenes. And I knew that if I was going to make that happen with any show, it needed to be Incident. My friend, Mickey Rowe, was the first openly autistic person to play Christopher and the reason I am who I am and where I am today. So on that level, it’s close to my heart because it’s the reason autistics started joining the mainstream theater conversation. On a logical level, I think we all know that if any show were to put the idea of mainstream accessible performance on the map and get big publicity, using a script as universally recognizable and contentious as this one is the perfect way to go about it.
So my plan as a director is to, well, kinda tear up the show and then put it back together. Obviously we’re under some limits with the whole copyright for the show situation, so we can’t change too much, but I also think there’s something to be said for keeping the script as it is and changing the staging completely. The idea for this production is to make the show accessible to the viewer - traditional performances of the show rely too much on inaccessible strobe lights and loud noises for their effects. We will, instead, show many of the same effects through physical theatre and devised movement, working as an ensemble for both the fall and spring semesters, as well as an original score written specifically for the show. We also have some other spicy ideas up our sleeves (an example being gender expression) that will happen a little more fluidly as the project takes shape.
Watch The Process
I fully acknowledge that this project is making history and, therefore, it would be pretty smart to document it! We’re going to have a video series about what our rehearsals look like, interviews with different members of the crew to talk about how they’re going about their section of the show, and fun behind the scenes shenanigans. We are currently working on a longer form documentary about the journey of creating this show which we hope will come out late May so stay tuned for that!
We also made a bunch of more specific resources about accessible theater-making which you can find as “Fact Friday”s on our instagram as well as the visual story for what the production would have looked like as a guide for others making visual stories for their events
Our Directors’ Notes
They never got to be in the program, but they feel important to still share, even if things ended in a way we never could have expected.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
By Sydney Zarlengo
As a multiply disabled creator, I don’t see a lot of people like me in the media. When I do, it is usually a harmful caricature or something more akin to being looked at through a magnifying glass like a weird bug. It is, almost never, representation made either by people like me or for people like me.
Even Incident fits this formula - the 2003 book describes the autistic experience for a neurotypical audience. The 2012 play did it even more so, not just with some of the most inaccessible lighting and sound design possible, but also by consistently casting neurotypical actors as the main character. There would not be an openly autistic actor professionally playing Christopher until my friend Mickey Rowe in 2017.
But as much as we criticize this text (and my goodness do we!), for so many people working on this project, Incident was the first story that made us realize who we were. It was the first time we saw somebody like us on stage or in a text, and the first time we felt seen in a way that was finally attached to a word for that experience. For me, this book is the reason I got diagnosed. Seeing the national tour of the play began my crusade for accessible theater-making, sparking my thesis research and the idea for this show in the first place.
This entire process has been nothing but deep love for this work; both for what it used to be, what it meant to us way back when, and also wondering - what it could become? What could we, as a group of neurodivergent people, make of it? How could we prove to the world that the theater is made for people like us? How could we show that accessible theater (on and off stage) is possible and just as good as the inaccessible default?
We have grappled with stereotypes, with the level of authenticity behind those stereotypes, with expectations and target audiences, with the existential crisis of “will this come across in a way that could reflect on our community in a harmful way?” Not to mention the pressure of “we’re making world history and so many people are watching - what if we mess it up?” As a director, I cannot express how many nights I spent sitting on the floor crying with this script wondering if this would even be possible.
But the conclusion I have come to is this: there is no such thing as good or bad representation. There is only authentic and inauthentic representation. All we can do is breathe life into this text, make it as full of love and care and thought and authenticity as humanly possible. And this team has done that and more. When it comes down to it, we really are just a group of kids trying to make the world a better place with our art. And we like to think that, on some level, we have.
We dedicate this production to all of the disabled and neurodivergent people who have paved the way for us and for all of the people who will come after. Because yes, this does mean we can do anything.
With all of my love
Sydney :)
CO-DIRECTOR’S NOTE
By Grace MacIntyre
This project is a love letter to those who came before us, and to those who will come after.
The work we’ve done behind the scenes would not have been possible without activists and artists who challenged the status quo.
Sydney and I’s approach to the show is simple: How can we make theater accessible? This is often an afterthought in many areas of life, something that is extra. But why are disability needs always considered an add-on, when 1 in 4 people in the USA are disabled in some way? We wanted to show that you can create a compelling piece without isolating a group of people.
While Sydney and I are named the directors, it was hardly a duo effort. Every movement, every prop, and more were a combined effort of the crew and cast. This production would not be what it is without the directorial input by everyone involved. Just like Christopher’s story is not the story of autism, this production is not the story of the directors. No neurodivergent experience is the same, and so we encouraged the development of Christopher’s story to be informed by the lives of us all.
I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge our privilege in being able to create this production. Us being able to put ourselves in the spotlight as neurodivergent is a privilege in itself. To those who participated in this production yet are to remain nameless, those who could not participate at all, and every other neurodivergent person out there who has to mask and remain hidden to protect themselves, we see you. This production works to further destigmatize neurodiversity, and fight against those who would weaponize our body-minds against us. It is not enough to recognize our existence if we are not treated as equals. Our production isn’t the solution to anything, simply the start of a much larger conversation and movement. We only represent a small portion of neurodiversity. The idea of an all ND Curious Incident show shouldn’t be groundbreaking, but it is. We hope that this production continues to push the
I’d like to thank Sydney for giving me the opportunity to be involved in this project, my family, my high school theater teacher Jesse Evans, and every person who has supported the creation of this piece.