Interdisciplinarity and stages in a process of engagement with theatre practice and disability

Interdisciplinary perspectives are crucial in navigating recent shifts in diversity agenda in the theatre industry and ensuring continued moves towards the accurate representation, equal participation, and valued contribution of disabled people on and off stage. Knowledge that is commonplace for disability scholars is still unfamiliar to many involved in day-to-day theatre work. Understanding lived experience perspectives of disability is also lacking, yet this is crucial for making sense of attitudes, structures, and environments experienced in theatre settings. This article considers what aspects of disability studies knowledge are most necessary to share in building, and moving from, disability consciousness in the theatre sector and training. It introduces the concept of Stages in a Process of Engagement with Theatre Practice and Disability for Actors and Directors and A Reflective Tool: Personal Positioning in a Process of Engagement with Theatre Practice and Disability. This article examines how interdisciplinary perspectives support individuals’ processes of exploring new territory, building familiarity across disabled and non-disabled communities, and sharing responsibility for industry-wide change.