鈥淵ou might be wondering how I got the greatest job in the world,鈥� writes Harry Smolin in remarks he delivered to the cast of Broadway鈥檚 The Phantom of the Opera in November.
At 18, Smolin may be one of the youngest influencers in the industry. As a special consultant for the Theatre Development Fund鈥檚 Autism Theatre Initiative, Smolin鈥攚ho himself has autism鈥攊s the voice and logic behind adjusted autism-friendly performances of Broadway shows. As TDF鈥檚 Director of Accessibility Programs Lisa Carling says, 鈥淗arry keeps us honest.鈥�
鈥淚 actually inherited a love of theatre from my grandmother,鈥� Smolin tells 半岛体育. 鈥淲hen I was little, she was always acting out fairy tales with me and my brother, so that鈥檚 what got me interested in theatre, but I was never an onstage guy. When I was a little kid, I was always on my computer and I was fascinated by all that technical stuff and I wanted to find something that I could do [with] these programs. I was never good at art, but I thought I may be able to work with sound.鈥�
One of Smolin鈥檚 therapists, Samantha Armstrong-Blanco, happened to be married to sound designer Alan Blanco. Smolin and Blanco met, and while sound design didn鈥檛 pan out, an introduction to TDF did. 鈥淭hey had done a couple of autism-friendly performances before, but they had never been able to see them from the perspective of someone who actually has autism,鈥� says Smolin.
TDF debuted its first ever autism-friendly Broadway show, Disney鈥檚 The Lion King, in 2011 with the help of consultants and educators. 鈥淭DF has a very successful program for elementary and secondary school student with hearing and vision loss,鈥� explains Carling. 鈥淲e bring them to specially scheduled Wednesday matinees at Broadway shows, and we kept hearing through special ed teachers, 鈥榃e have classes of students on the autism spectrum, what can you do for them? How can you make Broadway accessible to them?鈥�
鈥淭his is a very neglected audience,鈥� continues Carling. 鈥淭his is a community that needs to just relax, be themselves at a performance and not worry about typical audiences who might object or have a misunderstanding.鈥� TDF buys out a full performance and sells the tickets to members of the ATI email list at a 40-50 percent discount. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity for a community that has very few chances to do things together as a family.鈥�
鈥淭heir house is like a kind of prison cell in some sense,鈥� adds Harry, 鈥渨ith the fact that this kid cannot go out without being kicked out of places. So they don鈥檛 go out.鈥�
Smolin found his place in the wings serving his community and living his Broadway dream since 2013. On behalf of TDF, Smolin screens Broadway shows with his mom, Alison; so far he has seen 53, including the most recent鈥攁nd surprising鈥攕how to put on its first autism-friendly performance, Phantom.
鈥�Phantom is one of the most challenging shows to make autism-friendly,鈥� says Smolin. But surveys of ATI patrons kept turning up the same results: People wanted to see it. So, as he does with each show, Smolin attended with his mother to determine how to make it accessible to theatregoers with autism.
As with other autism-friendly productions, the sound does not go above 90 decibels; gone are gun shots (and even guns pointed towards the audiences); lights dim to half instead of a full blackout; the show removes strobes, flashes, and bright light effects.
But Phantom created challenges that previous shows like Mary Poppins, Elf, or Matilda had not. The chandelier crash could frighten audiences and the masked Phantom posed a barrier to an audience who processes the world on a literal level and fears of disguises.
What鈥檚 more, 鈥渟ome autistic people cannot process the rhythm of music,鈥� says Smolin of following plot through song. 鈥淭hey process [words] better with dialogue, or it鈥檚 easier when characters break into song after speaking a little.鈥�
The team at Phantom was willing to change whatever necessary to provide a meaningful experience for the ATI audience. But TDF never changes the script of a show, no matter the mature themes or complexity of the plot. In that vein, Smolin created 鈥淧hantom Made Easy: A Scene by Scene Guide to What鈥檚 Happening on Stage.鈥� The 28-page guide outlines the characters and onstage action one bullet point at a time. It鈥檚 diligent work, and Smolin takes his role seriously.
Often what鈥檚 most concerning to Smolin isn鈥檛 what鈥檚 happening onstage at all. Smolin fixates on speaker placement, the width of the hallway from the street entrance into the theatre, the distance between seats, the automation of bathroom sinks鈥攁ll conditions that theatre-goers with autism could be perceptive of or confused by in a world of amplified senses and literal processing. As Alison Smolin learned at their recent visit to Kinky Boots, which will present its first autism-friendly show May 7, the seats in the Hirschfeld Theatre are extremely close together, which her son noted could upset people who don鈥檛 like to be touched. (A disclaimer will warn ticketbuyers that those sensitive to this must consider before buying a ticket, or be sure to get an aisle seat.)
As much as his job focuses on audience preparation, Smolin also readies performers for an unconventional house. 鈥溾榊ou鈥檙e going to see people rocking back and forth in their seats flapping,鈥欌� Smolin tells the company a few days before the designated performance. 鈥淲hat I want to say is that even if it looks like people aren鈥檛 immersed in the show or paying attention to it, they still are.鈥�
Smolin will be featured on the Theatre Accessibility panel at BroadwayCon 2017 Saturday, January 28 at 11AM. Tickets for the May 7 ATI performance of Kinky Boots will go on sale at the end of March. Visit tdf.org to sign up for the email listserv.
