Disability Studies Theater- Finding community in an ableist society

The stage is lit, tuba music plays, and actors are accompanied by Tetris blocks and prop syringes. A sign says “Autetris,” and characters can “level up” and celebrate their autism.

This is one scene from the University of Oregon’s Story Circle Theater’s play, “Who Knew?” 

According to Sarah Stover, a UO student and an actor in the production, this scene was created by a writing group of neurodivergent UO students and Lane County community members, based on their experiences.

“The other part of the scene comes from a personal story of mine. Where when I was in sixth grade my Health teacher did a poll of ‘If vaccines cause autism would you give your babies vaccines? That was obviously problematic because vaccines don’t cause autism,” Stover said.  “So, we take that, which is a real and brutal depiction of common ableism, and then we just take it from the ableists and turn it into this funny, silly ‘autism is awesome' kind of thing.”

According to Betsy Wheeler, the founding director of the disability studies minor at UO and the scriptwriter/ and facilitator of the play, “Story Circle Theater” started in 2016 and this is its third production. UO students in ENG 410/510 and Lane County individuals from the disabled community contributed to the production. 

According to Wheeler, the Disability Studies minor started in 2015 at UO, and the program takes an interdisciplinary approach by combining subjects like public health, English, and theater with intersectional identities like disability, race, and gender. According to the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD Network), UO is one of 21 universities with a network-associated disability studies program.

However, according to Wheeler, this school year the Disability Studies minor was almost cut; it survived due to private donors. 

According to Wheeler, UO’s disability program currently has 60 students and offers many interdisciplinary classes. Even with this program, there are accessibility issues at the university.

In March, a UO student with “Covid Cautious Oregon '' posted anonymous videos on the organization’s TikTok, in which they assessed accessibility on campus for people who use mobility aids. As visualized on the account, the ramp outside of Lawrence is not ADA-accessible.

“Its slope is too high. There’s a concrete bump, and the surface type gets muddy in the rain,” a power chair user with “Covid Cautious Oregon” said.

According to Wheeler, the majority of people involved in the play have disabilities and have faced accessibility issues on campus.

“I think the disability studies minor as a whole probably does a bit more in terms of addressing ableism in academia, but the experience is in this class. The experiences in this class certainly had an effect on at least the people in it. Hopefully, those who view the play will understand the significance of their actions,” said Ash Osborne, a UO student, and member of the AccessAbility Student Union (AASU), who created props and did soundboard for the play.

Sarah Stover remarked on attendance policies and difficulties with AEC accommodations:

“I think the biggest issue that people face on campus are things like absence policies because I know for me if I am totally overstimulated, on the verge of a meltdown, I go to class anyway,” Stover said. “It really hurts my mental health. Not everyone wants to go to the AEC to get their accommodations. I have a friend who has struggled with professors outing her accommodations in class.”

Wheeler wrote the script based on the student's interests, experiences, and ideas.

“The first three scenes of the play are really about the hardships and the barriers that people face: bullying as a child, losing friends after you get a diagnosis, and then also, scene two is about the workarounds. You know, how often do you have to change a colostomy bag, how do you navigate campus with a service dog,” Wheeler said. “Then we start getting into just the pure joy and community, so I think it shows people a lot about the day-to-day experience.”

According to Wheeler, the play will be accessible in many ways to audience members. There will be accessible seating, an ASL interpreter, and closed captions projected on a screen. According to Osborne, AASU also assisted in providing fidget toys for audience members to use while watching the play.

“Anytime you get a group of disabled people together you start to build community, and community will always be the greatest protective factor against ableism,” Osborne said.

| Made in Dr. Mark Blaine’s Reporting I course at The University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication |