Theatre operations and inclusive performing arts
How can people with disabilities gain better access to theatres? This is not just a question of barrier-free access, but also of what needs to change so that more disabled people can work in the theatre – both on stage and behind the scenes. What knowledge and skills do employees in the areas of directing, dramaturgy, technology and equipment at theatres need to develop? What structural requirements are needed and what changes in working methods? And how should plays and performances be designed so that people with different disabilities feel addressed by them and go to the theatre?
– 10 May 2022
These and other questions will be addressed at the international symposium ‘ALL IN 2022 – Theatre Operations and the Performing Arts’ on 24 June 2022 in Düsseldorf. For the fourth time, Un-Label – Performing Arts Company and kubia, the competence centre for cultural education in old age and inclusion, are jointly organising the ALL IN symposium, this time in cooperation with the asphalt Festival and the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus.
Foto: Martina Marini-Misterioso
Jürgen Dusel, Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons, and Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, will open the high-profile programme of discussions and workshops. In lectures, excerpts from works, panel discussions and workshops at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus and the Central am Hauptbahnhof, theatre professionals from Germany and abroad will show which approaches work well, for example, so that actors with and without disabilities can work together on an equal footing. At ALL IN, theatre professionals from the fields of directing, dramaturgy, technology, costume and set design will find inspiration for their own work. The event is also aimed at people who work in cultural organisations, science, cultural administration or cultural policy.
In her keynote speech, British dramaturge Kaite O’Reilly will talk about the potential of equality for actors with disabilities for the aesthetic and structural development of stage production. Rimini Protokoll and the Munich Kammerspiele will show what this can look like in practice, based on the productions ‘Chinchilla Arschloch, waswas’ and “Effingers” – the Tourette’s play ‘Chinchilla Arschloch, waswas’ was performed at last year’s asphalt Festival.
Afterwards, representatives of the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus and inclusion consultants from Access Maker will discuss issues of structural change for theatre operations. Afternoon workshops will focus on alternative dramaturgical approaches and equal forms of collaboration between actors with and without disabilities, costumes and stage designs for diverse bodies, and digital translation processes from movement to sound and sound to images, as well as individual solutions for technical accessibility and the development of live audio descriptions and touch tours.
The entire symposium programme will take place in architecturally accessible rooms. Simultaneous translation into English, German and German Sign Language (DGS) as well as audio description will be provided for the discussion programme, including via live stream. Simultaneous translation into English, German and DGS will be available for the workshops upon prior registration.
In addition, personal assistants will be on hand to provide individual support to participants, and the organisers will provide a shuttle service between the workshop venues for people with limited mobility if required.
The full programme of the symposium can be found at un-label.eu
The evening programme of the symposium will take place at the asphalt festival grounds of the Alte Farbwerke, where we invite you to a ‘meet and greet’ in the festival beer garden. There will be concerts by a jazz band and a techno-jazz ensemble by Un-Label (free admission), and symposium guests can also attend the play SCORES THAT SHAPED OUR FRIENDSHIP. We offer audio description and simultaneous translation in German Sign Language (DGS) for the production. The musical programme will be visualised reactively.
Tickets for the symposium are available here: https://bit.ly/tickets_allin_symposium (registration deadline: 21 June 2022)
Tickets for the livestream of the symposium are available here: https://bit.ly/tickets_allin_livestream
Tickets for the Performances SCORES THAT SHAPED OUR FRIENDSHIP are available in the asphalt webshop at a price of €24 / €12 reduced, admission for assistants is free.
Funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the Un-Label Music and Sound Department project.
