About
The Disability, Theatre, and Performance (DTaP) focus group is an assemblage of scholars, artists, and educators interested in furthering the knowledge, study, and practice of theatrical and non-theatrical performances of disability, by or for disabled people, and about or referring to topics related to disability or disability/disabled culture anywhere in the world and at any period in history.
Additionally, the work of the Disability, Theatre, and Performance (DTaP) focus group includes the organization of and advocacy for disabled people in theatre and performance. It will offer support to any theatre and performance artists, teachers, or scholars affected by ableism in their work, whether inside or outside of the academy.
For the purposes of this organization, the terms “disability,” “theatre,” and “performance” are widely conceptualized according to the ongoing scholarly, artistic, and activist understandings of theatre and performance and of disability and debility. Disability will be understood as including but not limited to any temporary or permanent condition or mode of being 1) considered non-normative or in need of correction by any nationally or internationally recognized medical or psychological organization during the period and location under consideration; 2) resulting in exclusion, discrimination, or oppression under the social model of disability; or 3) triggering self-identification as “disabled” or any related concept, such as “crip” or any related variants, “mad,” “mentally ill,” “chronically ill,” “neurodivergent,” and so on.
The Disability, Theatre, and Performance (DTaP) focus group is an intentionally and self-consciously inclusive organization, dedicated to providing a supportive and equitable space for all who wish to participate. It is dedicated to the beliefs that all people hold the right to self-expression and self-determination regardless of physical, psychological, neurocognitive, developmental, or other difference; that all forms of bodymind diversity are characteristics of human experience worthy of celebration and not suppression; and that the fields of theatre and performance practice, pedagogy, and scholarship are made stronger by work by, for, and about disabled people of all kinds. The focus group is committed to dismantling White supremacist and other oppressive systems endemic to the field of Disability Studies.
For further details, please refer to our founding documents:
Additionally, the work of the Disability, Theatre, and Performance (DTaP) focus group includes the organization of and advocacy for disabled people in theatre and performance. It will offer support to any theatre and performance artists, teachers, or scholars affected by ableism in their work, whether inside or outside of the academy.
For the purposes of this organization, the terms “disability,” “theatre,” and “performance” are widely conceptualized according to the ongoing scholarly, artistic, and activist understandings of theatre and performance and of disability and debility. Disability will be understood as including but not limited to any temporary or permanent condition or mode of being 1) considered non-normative or in need of correction by any nationally or internationally recognized medical or psychological organization during the period and location under consideration; 2) resulting in exclusion, discrimination, or oppression under the social model of disability; or 3) triggering self-identification as “disabled” or any related concept, such as “crip” or any related variants, “mad,” “mentally ill,” “chronically ill,” “neurodivergent,” and so on.
The Disability, Theatre, and Performance (DTaP) focus group is an intentionally and self-consciously inclusive organization, dedicated to providing a supportive and equitable space for all who wish to participate. It is dedicated to the beliefs that all people hold the right to self-expression and self-determination regardless of physical, psychological, neurocognitive, developmental, or other difference; that all forms of bodymind diversity are characteristics of human experience worthy of celebration and not suppression; and that the fields of theatre and performance practice, pedagogy, and scholarship are made stronger by work by, for, and about disabled people of all kinds. The focus group is committed to dismantling White supremacist and other oppressive systems endemic to the field of Disability Studies.
For further details, please refer to our founding documents: