A  A  A

 Autism          Acting           Act4ward            

 Autism and special needs fit hand in glove with the creative industries.

It was through drama that I myself became aware of autism in it's many forms, and from autism that we have so often many great performers.

That is not to say that every great actor has special needs - but many do, and this has been reflected in work with The Halfling Project .

Whilst the Halfling project deals with life skills, survival and understanding of autism act4ward helps focus the power of autism in the creative sense to the individual performer.

The 3 A's is an important part of building from the ground up a performers understanding of how autism works, and what makes their way of seeing things different from the "norm".

With the right information and support an autistic actor can even have a head start in drama and performance.

The aim of working with act4ward is to provide that support and understanding, either in conjunction with The Halfling project work or as a focussed support towards the actor and performer .

The participant decides just how much involvement they have with special needs support directly outside acting and how much within.

However it is my belief that all new performers with special needs should from the start acknowledge their difference - be proud of it - and use it to full positive creative effect.

This extra support  becomes a natural part of the working process on act4ward and remains informal - informative and fun. 

Video:- actors SonnyBoy Skelton & James De in a video impro scene July 2017 - playing on the public perception of autism in the child!!