Planning to be in New York City between now and April 20?
If so, you may want to check out the Big Umbrella Festival at Lincoln Center. The Festival features a diverse series of performances and programs geared toward neuro-diverse audiences of all ages. Lincoln Center refers to these events as “relaxed” which means that attendees can come in and out of the theaters as needed; vocalize without being “shushed” by other audience members and move around the venues freely. “Chill out spaces” will be available at all performances and workshops and accommodations are fully accessible.
The Big Umbrella Festival originated in 2018, several years after Lincoln Center presented Trusty Sidekick Theater Company’s show “Up and Away.” According to Playbill, “Up and Away” was “the nation’s first production commissioned by a large cultural institution for young people on the spectrum.” The production was a huge success, selling out performances and attracting media acclaim.
In 2017, Lincoln Center followed the success of “Up and Away” with “Campfire,” another production of Trusty Sidekick. Once again, the show was a sell-out. By that point, it was clear to then Lincoln Center Education Executive Vice President Russell Granet, that more offerings for neurodiverse audiences were needed. Lincoln Center rose to the challenge.
“We have a single unified mission, which is to bring the greatest art to the largest possible audience,” Granet told Playbill in 2018. “If we’re serious about that, then we have to be serious about working with people with disabilities. With 1 in 68 young people diagnosed with ASD [most recently the statistic is 1 in 36], this is a hugely underserved population.”
This year’s festival will offer three multisensory productions including “When the World Turns,” a presentation of Polyglot Theatre and Oily Cart. Playbill describes this production as “an immersive theatrical experience that celebrates the senses, inviting audiences into a wondrous landscape of foliage, light, sounds, and shadows.”
Big Umbrella will also present a production based on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Created by Peruvian theater company Teatro La Plaza, the production, in Spanish with English subtitles, brings the stories of people with Down syndrome to the stage.
Another Big Umbrella offering is Second Hand Dance’s “The Sticky Dance: For Sensory Groovers,” an interactive dance production especially for young children and families. In addition, kids can participate in the workshop, “Magical Miniature World, where they can use accessible supplies to make artistic creations.
Finally, Lincoln Center will present a comedy night by ReelAbilities Film Festival – “the largest festival in the world dedicated to films by and about people with disabilities,” and two relaxed classical concerts for children on the spectrum.
To celebrate this year’s festival, Lincoln Center has produced a limited edition Big Umbrella Festival poster, given free to attendees while supplies last. The poster artwork (pictured above) was painted by Marlon Muller of the NIAD Art Center. NIAD is a progressive art studio for adult artists with developmental disabilities. Mr. Muller’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide and he currently has a solo exhibition at MoMA through April 20th.
For more information and to purchase tickets to the Big Umbrella Festival, click here.
