Making it real – Drama has “wholly changed me as a person”
What better way to portray autism accurately on stage than to call in expert advice during rehearsals?
That’s what Trinity’s Drama department did for its latest production, a move that not only promoted greater authenticity but helped cast members grow as actors and people.
With the aid of non-profit group Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia), the actors came away with a deeper understanding and empathy for a condition affecting an estimated 300,000 Australians.
Experts visited the school to deliver information, answer questions, and conduct acting workshops ahead of the production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
The lead role of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old English autistic boy, was shared by two students, Christian Viola (10St) and Alexander Henry (11La).
They appeared in four performances each during the play’s run at Summer Hill in May, with a cast augmented by girls from Meriden and Rosebank.
Christian dedicated his performance to his autistic sister Elise, saying: “My goal was to make even just one person in the audience think, ‘I’ve seen someone like this person before and I want to help them’. I wanted to showcase empathy for this character.”
He said his parents were “very moved” by seeing the show at Trinity. They felt it might be too overwhelming for his sister to see it live but she is likely to see a filmed version with her Year 6 classmates at their Marrickville school.
“It’s not a disease; it’s something to celebrate,” he said.
Alex said he struggled with the role at first but found the Aspect sessions “incredibly useful in grasping how to portray the character authentically”.
“It helped me show the light and the shade of this life. There is lots of darkness and distress but also beautiful moments, like Christopher’s love of maths and outer space, which are his happy place and his moment to shine.”
Alex said he had known autistic people at school since primary school.
“When you understand why they are doing the things they do, you realise that maybe they are the strongest people in class.”
Both actors were inspired by Dylan Crawford, an actor, director, and English teacher employed by Aspect, who visited the School during rehearsals and explained to students how he managed his own autism and ADHD, and how drama had been central to his development.
“Drama is the reason I am the way I am in my life. It has wholly changed me as a person. I really struggled through school with anxiety, connecting with my peers, and feeling afraid of social interaction.
“However, through drama I was given the space and patience and love I needed. I was able to turn theatre from something I was forced to do by mum to something that has become a core part of myself. I had a great teacher who focused on what I could do, not what I couldn’t do.”
He told students: “Theatre should be a place that everyone can access on both sides of the stage. You are surrounded here by people with really big hearts who want to make this production successful, who are trying to do the right thing for you, for the autistic community, and this production.
“You are depicting us [neurodivergent people] so we are putting into your hands the responsibility to depict us with dignity.”
Head of Drama Brendan Duhigg said: “The insights and expertise from Aspect gave the cast an idea what the world looks like from an autistic person’s point of view.
“The boys and girls in the cast were all really committed to doing honour to this; some of them have autistic brothers and sisters themselves. It has really enhanced their understanding.”
He cited the Atticus Finch quote from To Kill a Mockingbird, saying to really understand someone you need to “climb inside their skin and walk around in it”.
“That’s what the cast have done and I hope that’s what the audience ended up experiencing.”
Dylan Crawford said autism had helped him with acting. “There’s a term called masking, or putting on an act, when we pretend to be neurotypical. A lot of autistic people going into the theatre to act say, ‘Hang on, I do this every day’.”
He explained why autistic people engage in “stimming” – fidgeting, flapping hands, making noises, and so on – saying these behaviours all help regulate a build-up of hyper-sensory reactions to things like noise, light, temperature, and textures.
“We can’t tune out every little thing going on in the background. There’s a cumulative mental load and if it gets too much you can’t process it anymore. Stimming helps to empty the cup so that it doesn’t overflow and lead to a meltdown.”
In response to a question from one student, he said one of the best ways to help autistic people was to “just take the time to have patience; sometimes we can be difficult to have patience with”.
