Making the Stage More Accessible
An Interview with Travis Burbee, associate artistic director of EPIC Players
BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT; PHOTOS BY ZUI GOMEZ
Travis Burbee is the associate artistic director of EPIC Players, a nonprofit theater company based in New York City that opens the stage to all types of artists and seeks to shine a light on neurodiverse talent. Travis details the extent of EPIC Players programming and how it seeks to make its myriad programs accessible to people with disabilities, as well as how he sees representation and opportunities for actors with disabilities expanding in the greater theater community.
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How did EPIC Players get started?
EPIC was started by Aubrie Therrien, our executive director, in 2016 along with a passionate group of artists. It came out of seeing a need for the work we do, both for an inclusive space for artists with disabilities to gather and also a pathway of accessibility in theater. Theater as a profession is very inaccessible. We’re trying to bridge that gap both by advocating for change in the theater community and by training the actors we work with in an accessible way to strive for professional standards.
How is EPIC Players organized?
There are so many programs, and they are forever expanding. We do two mainstage shows a year. Those are two fully produced pieces of theater – usually a play and a musical. These are professional productions where everyone is paid for their work. We do three cabarets a year. Those are all paid opportunities as well. We have a performance opportunity called the EPIC Underground that is like a stand-up storytelling event, also a paid performance opportunity. We have a whole slew of classes every semester on all kinds of topics like improv, dance, scene study, foundations of auditions, etc. All our classes are free to EPIC members. We also have a program called the EPIC advocate program that pairs a mentor with a player so every player has a mentor they can go to and work with one on one on whatever they need, like working on their resume or an audition or just skill-based work. We also do in-school classes in the New York City area where we’ll go into schools and create original shows with students or work on theater skills. We also have an assistant teaching artist program for actors who have been in our program and are interested in teaching. It’s a training program for them to be paid and grow as a teaching artist. And we also just recently started EPIC Los Angeles that is on the ground running. They just had their first show this summer.
How does EPIC Players find its performers?
They come to us for the most part. We certainly are at events and will meet and connect with people, but a lot of the time its people who have been looking for this kind of thing. Often, it’s an actor who wants to do theater but they can’t find a place that’s accessible or they feel welcome in. They come to us and become passionate about what we’re doing. If someone wants to join EPIC, they reach out to us, and we have auditions once a year.
Do your participants generally have previous acting experience in less accessible theater spaces, or do participants have no theater experience?
It’s all over the board. We certainly have people who come to us who haven’t done any theater at all, ever. We also have a good amount of people who are already professional actors and need some accessibility support and are looking for a community with other actors with disabilities.
Neurodiversity can refer to a huge spectrum. What are some of the ways EPIC Players accommodates and makes theater accessible to such a large spectrum of disability?
Accessibility is a wonderful thing because it’s a constant adventure. It’s not one size fits all. It’s a process of being proactive and striving to make things better. A lot of it is knowing the people we work with and what they specifically need. We have a specific teaching method that is accessible and is based on where the participants are at. We also do things to make our shows and rehearsals accessible. For example, we have an extended rehearsal process so the rehearsals are more spread out and people’s lives aren’t disrupted when they go into rehearsals for a show. We also have an access coordinator, Jamie Rose Hayes, who is also an ASL interpreter. She is a point person people can go to about access.
We just did Spring Awakening this past spring, and it is a heavy show. We brought on a mental health counselor who was there to work with the actors and be there for them. That ended up being huge. Also, we instituted that if folks were getting overwhelmed in rehearsal, they could just signal they needed a break and take one.
Beyond neurodiversity, what communities within the disability community do you work with, and how do you create access for them?
Most of our actors would identify as having a developmental disability. Autism is a huge identifier. But we’re an inclusive space. We have folks within our company who don’t have a disability. We also have Deaf actors and actors who are low vision, and as they have joined us, it has been exciting to make our programs accessible to them as well.
EPIC Players recently presented a neuro-inclusive July Cabaret: Greatest Summer Bops. What was the process creating this show?
It was so fun. It was our first summer cabaret. We had players audition at the beginning of the summer. From there we generated a set list of songs about summer and cast the show. We started by learning the music and singing together and added some choreography. We also employ people in our company as choreographers and assistant directors. From there we rehearsed with the band, and on the day of the show we did a sound check where we ran most of the show. We typically have Broadway guests come in to perform with us.
Since EPIC Players’ founding in 2016, have you seen representation and opportunities for neurodiverse performers and other performers with disabilities improve beyond organizations like EPIC Players that are specifically geared toward people with disabilities?
I do. It’s slow and there’s so much more that needs to happen, but it feels like we’re moving in the right direction. How to Dance in Ohio was just on Broadway, which was the most inclusive Broadway show ever with authentic representation. We’re seeing way more authentic representation in TV and film as well. There’s a lot more that needs to be done, but I think the general community is more aware than in the past.
In the dance world, we don’t have typecasting the same way as in the theater world. In addition to people with disabilities playing roles of characters with disabilities, are you seeing more opportunities for actors with disabilities to play parts regardless of if the character is scripted as having a disability or not?
I think that’s such a great question. That’s where we need to go. We’re seeing authentic representation. And now we need opportunities for actors with disabilities beyond characters with disabilities. Something we always say when we’re casting shows is “Who said this role wasn’t created for a person with a disability?” That is so much of what we’re trying to do. We want to show the wider community that people with disabilities can do more roles.
What’s next for EPIC Players? Does the company have an upcoming project or focus you’d like to share more about?
We have a whole slew of shows coming up. Our next cabaret is October 26th and is 90s themed featuring lots of great 90s hits. This December 10th through 15th we’re going to be doing A Christmas Carol. We’re going to be creating our own original version. We’re doing Seussical in May. And we have a stand-up storytelling event in the winter called EPIC Underground.
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To learn more, visit www.epicplayersnyc.org.
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