Neurodivergent New Play Series Returns With ACADECA Reading

This February, the Neurodivergent New Play Series will return with a reading of AcaDeca - written by Alexandria Passanissi and directed by Megan Lummus - at A.R.T./New York’s South Oxford Space, located at 138 South Oxford Studio, Brooklyn, NY on February 16th at 2pm EST.

Tickets are available online, with a minimum $10 donation for limited in-person seating & pay-what-you-can for at-home for at-home livestreaming up to two weeks after the live performance. Regular updates are available at www.linktr.ee/neurodivergentplays and on Instagram & Facebook @neurodivergentplays.

AcaDeca is a story of identity, acceptance, and being really good at academic competitions. While studying for the Academic Decathlon, two lonely, autistic high school girls find companionship in each other through “West Wing” fanfiction, shared diagnosis, and the power of 80s pop culture. The duo struggles to recognize and accept their diagnoses while maintaining this budding friendship.

“I was researching the representation of autism, specifically autistic women, in the theatrical world, when I was hit with a sneaking suspicion that I may also be autistic,” says playwright Alexandria Passanissi. “My brother is nonverbal and autistic, his life a more traditional depiction of autism pre-2020s. My expressions of neurodivergency were so different from his, so different than anything in any play I’d ever read or seen, that I had to fill in the gap with a play of my own. And so came AcaDeca."

Director Meghan Lummus adds “I was really interested in directing AcaDeca because the show is about two autistic girls finding connection in each other, which represents a lot of things that we don't often see represented in the media. Reading this play and seeing stage directions that say "she stims" instead of some stereotypical idea of what stimming should look like, was incredibly refreshing, especially for me to dive into as a director.”

Founded in 2023 by award-winning autistic playwright and producer Anthony J. Piccione, the Neurodivergent New Play Series is dedicated to presenting matinee readings on the 3rd Sunday of every month - with seasonal breaks in December, January, July, and August - of plays written entirely by neurodivergent and disabled playwrights (i.e. autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, Tourette syndrome, etc.) as part of a growing resident company of playwrights whose interests and specialties span a wide range of subjects, genres & structural approaches, with each play personally selected from a neuroinclusive resident company of directors. Learn more at www.linktr.ee/neurodivergentplays or by following @neurodivergentplays on Instagram and Facebook.

To post a comment, you must register and login.