The arts and inclusion...a natural fit

This summer I’ve been going back to my roots in the arts…and it feels good! I’ve long said that the arts are a natural place for inclusion. In the arts all contributions are valued and the uniqueness of people and their perspectives is seen as a definite advantage. The time I spent teaching dance, drama and directing plays with children of all abilities was a period of amazing personal growth for me. I was the teacher, but I swear that I learned much more from the kids I worked with than they learned from me. I am very proud of the work I did at San Diego Junior Theatre, where I was the Education Director for 11 years, and even prouder still that welcoming and supporting every child is still a priority at the theatre. The photo above is from a production I directed of The Magic Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. The adorable kids in the photo are now in college.

The chance to be back with my theatre peeps this summer has been very fun and given me a lot of the warm, fuzzy feelings that I miss from the old days. In June I co-presented with Diane Nutting and Elizabeth Broder-Oldach from Imagination Stage at the VSA International Conference. Truly, they did the bulk of the presentation and I just stood there with a stupid grin on my face. I was so proud of them, and of KIT and the difference we are able to make in the world for children with and without disabilities. Diane and Elizabeth shared what they had learned about inclusion, and gave some very practical strategies for implementing inclusion in an arts organization. We’ll repeat this presentation at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education conference in San Francisco (where we will be wearing sweaters in August- did you know it will be 56 in San Fran this week?).

Finally, in the artsy summer activities, KIT is co-hosting the LEAD (Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability) conference with the San Diego Zoo and the Kennedy Center August 25-28.