Paper Mill Playhouse Earns Award for Sensory-Friendly Performances

A follow up on the article about Paper Mill Playhouse's sensory-friendly performances! Congratulations on all of your hard work!


MILLBURN, N.J. - Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee- Producing Artistic Director, Todd Schmidt-Managing Director) created a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere for the very first sensory-friendly performance presented at the Millburn theatre on June 11th. Designed for children on the autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities, great care went into structuring the performance into a fully accessible theater experience. This sensory-friendly performance of Pushcart Players' Stone Soup and Other Stories was supported by a grant from The Merck Company Foundation. In recognition of its success, Paper Mill Playhouse and Pushcart Players received the 2011 "Innovator Award" on June 23rd from the Cultural Access Network of New Jersey, which is sponsored by the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

"We've received suggestions and encouragement from the over 300 people who attended this first performance, and with their support we hope to grow this effort so that it's not a special event, but a regular occurrence." remarked Lisa Cooney, Director of Education at Paper Mill Playhouse. "

"Sensitive Sensory Cinema" for Children with Disabilities

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Rave Motion Pictures has introduced a new monthly series of movie screenings called "Sensitive Sensory Cinemas," geared to families with children who have special needs—specifically, those who have a disability or are on some stage of the autism spectrum.

In an announcement of the series, Jason Wiles, lead manager at Rave, wrote, "We realize that bringing children with autism to the theater can be quite a challenge. Each child reacts differently to the normal conditions of the theater, darkened theaters, and loud sound systems. These shows are shown at a light and sound level which will be more inviting for these families.

"We also realize that the normal standards of theater etiquette of 'please sit and be quiet' can also be challenging. We want to emphasize that during these performances, the lighting will be left on high, the sound will be turned down, and our patrons are free to talk, sing, or move around the theater during the show."

'Lion King' to Test Autism-Friendly Performance on Broadway

Came across this on the Orlando Sentinel's Theater Blog. Hadn't heard a word about it but bravo to the Theatre Development Fund.

With autism affecting a growing number of families, I thought this was interesting: The Theatre Development Fund (TDF) is testing a new program, called the Autism Theatre Initiative, to make theater accessible to children and adults on the autism spectrum, and their families.
And how appropriate that the first Broadway show to test an autism-friendly performance is a show with strong child appeal: Disney's "The Lion King." The Oct. 2 matinee of "The Lion King" at the Minskoff Theatre (200 W. 45th St., New York) will be modified to better suit those with autism and related conditions.