Theater Breaking Through Barriers
Encyclopedia
Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB), formerly Theater By the Blind, is an inclusive
theater company in New York City
that strives develop the talents of individuals with disabilities for work onstage, backstage, in the office and in the audience. It began in 1979 as sighted actors recording plays for the blind. The theater then moved to performances for the blind and then blind performances for the sighted.
opened in 1986 at the Long Wharf Theater's Stage II. The show starred George Ashiotis and Lucia Puccia who played a young actor who is gradually going blind from diabetes and his girlfriend who has been blind from birth. Crystal Clear began as an improvisation on a London
pub stage in 1982.
The production had mixed reviews from critics. Mel Gusso said for The New York Times, "It is diagnostic rather than psychologically probing." Another critic said the play was "a wildly unfocused work that tries to cover too vast a terrain" and that it contained "a cornucopia of cliches".
by William Shakespeare
staged at the Barrow Group Theater in Manhattan
, was the first play by TBTB to feature a character in a wheelchair:
A note in the theater program said, "Increasingly we feel we must include all disabled people [rather than blind people only] in our work." To reflect this shift in thought and philosophy, 2008 saw the company changing its name from Theater By The Blind to Theater Breaking Through Barriers. Productions, such as Romeo & Juliet, closely followed featuring an actor with spastic diplegia
, their first in a subsequent line of productions incorporating actors with various mobility impairments.
Inclusion (disability rights)
Inclusion is a term used by people with disabilities and other disability rights advocates for the idea that all people should freely, openly and without pity accommodate any person with a disability without restrictions or limitations of any kind...
theater company in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
that strives develop the talents of individuals with disabilities for work onstage, backstage, in the office and in the audience. It began in 1979 as sighted actors recording plays for the blind. The theater then moved to performances for the blind and then blind performances for the sighted.
Crystal Clear
Crystal Clear by Phil YoungPhil Young
Phil Young was an Australian rugby league player for the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Newtown Jets in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership competition.-Point scoring summary:-Matches played:- References :...
opened in 1986 at the Long Wharf Theater's Stage II. The show starred George Ashiotis and Lucia Puccia who played a young actor who is gradually going blind from diabetes and his girlfriend who has been blind from birth. Crystal Clear began as an improvisation on a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
pub stage in 1982.
The production had mixed reviews from critics. Mel Gusso said for The New York Times, "It is diagnostic rather than psychologically probing." Another critic said the play was "a wildly unfocused work that tries to cover too vast a terrain" and that it contained "a cornucopia of cliches".
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
staged at the Barrow Group Theater in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, was the first play by TBTB to feature a character in a wheelchair:
A note in the theater program said, "Increasingly we feel we must include all disabled people [rather than blind people only] in our work." To reflect this shift in thought and philosophy, 2008 saw the company changing its name from Theater By The Blind to Theater Breaking Through Barriers. Productions, such as Romeo & Juliet, closely followed featuring an actor with spastic diplegia
Spastic diplegia
Spastic diplegia, historically known as Little's Disease, is a form of cerebral palsy that is a neuromuscular condition of hypertonia and spasticity in the muscles of the lower extremities of the human body, usually those of the legs, hips and pelvis...
, their first in a subsequent line of productions incorporating actors with various mobility impairments.