Students collaborate with Syracuse community members with disabilities to co-create theater in an inclusive environment.It begins with a dance party. Syracuse University Department of Dramastudents get energized for the day’s theater workshop alongside members of the Syracuse community who have disabilities and have come to share their talent.
It’s part of the All Star C.A.S.T. (Community Actors & Students’ Theater) program in the College of Visual and Performing Arts in which Syracuse students act as facilitators of a multi-arts performance to take place at the end of the semester, working with Syracuse community members who perform in the show.
“It’s all about co-creation,” says Kathryn Fathers, the faculty advisor who guides the students and oversees the workshops. “We don’t come with anything fixed to start with, so everyone can participate in thinking about the design, the production, the direction and the performances.”
Kathryn Fathers (right) facilitates important discussions about disabilities studies with students including Savannah Devlin ’23 (left).
The dance party is followed by a series of physical, vocal and mindful warmups. In smaller groups, the actors do improv, an activity or an exercise that maps to the theme of the show.
Fathers, a board-certified music therapist and licensed creative arts therapist and the director of CNY Music Therapy, says the program is transformative for the students. “Making relationships through the creative arts is such a huge gift. You are hearing people’s creative ideas and sharing one another’s stories. All Star C.A.S.T. provides a beautiful connection that sparks new ideas, and it’s a celebration of everyone’s abilities.”
All Star C.A.S.T. is a class that addresses deep change and awareness for students. It’s experiential learning—to grow in listening and self-reflective skills and to acknowledge their own privilege.
—Professor Kathryn Fathers
At the beginning of the semester, Fathers first meets with the students for two weeks to discuss important topics, including disability studies, inclusive language and addressing privilege and bias. “We ask, ‘What does privilege look like in this situation with people who have learning disabilities?’” says Fathers. “This can often mean taking over, or colonizing, someone’s ideas, or leaving some voices unheard because they were not given space to fully contribute. We’re always trying to become more aware so that we can become better, and more responsive, listeners.”
Kathryn Fathers says All Star C.A.S.T. fosters co-creation in a truly nonjudgmental space.
Fathers says it can be uncomfortable for the students to not take control of the creative process while learning to lead a workshop, and it is especially beneficial for the acting majors to take on a behind-the-scenes role. “The students grow in their sense of confidence and their sense of self. By the end, all the students are invested in the success of every actor. I tell them, ‘Notice where the spotlight is focused. How can we give that spotlight away for the community actors to enter it and bring their strengths?’ We work on holding equitable space for all of us to co-create.”
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