Interview: Diane Wilcox Talks About Special Sensory-Friendly Staged Concert Reading of TEMPLE at Wharton Center

A staged concert reading of Temple is happening at the Wharton Center on Michigan State University's campus this weekend and there is going be a very special sensory-friendly performance included. "1 in 68 people are born on the spectrum, which is astounding," said Diane Wilcox, Director of Marketing and Communications. "It's a huge population of people who often don't feel welcome in our environment of live theatre and we are looking to change that. Our sensory-friendly performance is specially geared toward audiences who are on the spectrum and others who have sensory sensitivities and needs."

The MSU Federal Credit Union Institute for Arts & Creativity at Wharton Center and MSU College of Arts and Letters' Department of Theatre are working together to present imáGen 2016 which brings together local high school and middle school students, MSU Department of Theatre music theatre and dance students, and Broadway performers working on the same stage. Temple is based on the life of Temple Grandin, who is widely known as on of the first individuals on the autism spectrum to publicly share insights from her personal experiences of autism. She is best-selling author, professor, autism activist, inventor, and named on the annual list of the one hundred most influential people in the world by Time in 2010.

"Our ultimate goal as we expand accessibility here at Wharton Center is to have sensory-friendly performances as a natural part of our routine and a number of them within every season. Our next hope is that that will be a sensory-friendly performance of one of our act one family shows in the next season along with a Broadway performance, but with Temple being the show chosen for our imáGen project, it just made sense to start with this one," said Wilcox. "A big difference between this show and other is that many sensory-friendly shows are geared toward young children, but the nature of the show and story of Temple it is really more geared toward young adults and adults. From our perspective developmentally, the show is for sixth grade and above, so it is not necessary going to be younger folks who are attending, which is another difference about our event."

The Wharton Center has gone the extra mile to make sure that everyone in attendance will be comfortable at the show. The staff has been going through training with a corporation that works with helping people understand autism and go through sensitivity training for it. Standing and movement will be accommodated in the theatre if a patron needs to keep standing and sitting throughout the show. A restless room has been prepared for attendees for anyone who discovers the show too overwhelming where inside of it they will find professional therapy items such crash pads, weighted blankets, fidget items, and stress balls. There will also be an activity area during the entire performance for anyone who finds the performance too stressful, but the restless room is not for them. In the activity area, attendees can view the show on monitors while they do puzzles or other activities at the same time. Audience members will also be permitted to bring in their comfort objects if they need them. In many cases that may be a smart phone or tablet, which will be permitted and allowed to be on during the performance, although with sound off.

"A lot of people on the spectrum need a lot of structure and understanding every step of the way with what they are going to be doing because they like routine and familiarity. We have provided a booklet on our website that explains the process from what our parking structure looks like to when you walk into the lobby and hand the usher your ticket and are given your assigned seat. They will know in advance where our restless room is and where the activity area is along with what is provided," said Wilcox. "Providing the proper support is important and allows for the opportunity to relax in theatre. You don't need to be self-conscious. This is also a wonderful opportunity for people with Tourette's to come to theatre because no one is going to judge you or whoever you are with because you have outbursts. We all know you have outbursts, it's no big deal. The cast and company are well prepared to know this is going on. It's just going be a little more restless and lively in the audience than it typically might be."

Wilcox is very passionate about the sensory-friendly performance of Temple and believes that this performance is important in starting the sensory-friendly performances at the Wharton Center. She wants anyone who is hesitant about attending to visit the website under the Temple page and take a look at the resources from the frequently asked questions to the social narrative that walks them step by step through the theatre process. "Just know that everyone is very welcome and there is no problem or judgement or that kind of thing," said Wilcox. "We really are trying to be welcoming as humanly possible for this show and just let everyone enjoy a performance of theatre."

Gabriel Barre is directing the staged concert reading. There will be two performances October 21st and October 22nd at 7:30 p.m. at the Wharton Center with the special sensory-friendly matinee performance October 22nd at 2:00 p.m. For more information (including the sensory-friendly resources) or tickets, visit www.whartoncenter.com.

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