Cochrane’s Sleeping Giants Theatre is offering a special drama class aimed at people who may be on the autism spectrum.
Managing director of Sleeping Giants Jenny Austin said it's going to be a “super supportive environment to learn some new skills, exercise creativity and meet some new friends.”
“There’s so much freedom in a drama class, to be creative, to add your own experiences,” she said.
Participants will experience the drama from the ground up – building characters, writing a play, designing costumes, and performing the finished product.
The first step is to brainstorm ideas that then will build into a story.
“They build the world the characters live in, then come up with an adventure they will embark on,” Austin said.
Most of her students are between the ages of 12 and 18.
Austin said she doesn’t teach a class herself, but her instructors have shared one storyline that caught her attention.
“They accidently created a monster. It’s quite funny. He creates a fungus. His name is Jeffrey,” she said with a laugh.
The Autism and Aspergers Friendship Society (AAFS) of Calgary approached Austin about putting on the drama program last year.
Brittany Novak is the interim program coordinator at AAFS.
She said the two staff members they had in Cochrane working with the drama class love it.
“They are so thrilled to be a part of it, and parents have reached out to me and are so happy they’re able to do something like this,” she said.
Despite some stereotypes that may have been bolstered by Hollywood, people on the autism spectrum are not naturally any more creative than non-spectrum people.
Novak agreed with that characterization: some are, some aren’t.
“It varies a lot,” she said. “Everyone is different. We do have a lot of creative people, but for some people, it’s not necessarily their jam.
“The people who sign up for this are very creative, that’s for sure. And it’s a comforting place for them to express themselves.”
“And they’re with people who are also on the spectrum so they can feel safer to explore friendships, as well as a passion they love,” Novak added.
Novak suggested anyone interested in the program, or even in learning of Jeffrey’s fate, is welcome to come and watch the final performance.
The classes run on Fridays from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Frank Wills Hall, and will wrap up roughly when the school year ends in late June.
Interested participants can call Novak at 587-834-3408.
More information is available at the AAFS website: aafscalgary.com or at the Sleeping Giants Theatre website: sleepinggiantstheatre.com.
