English 
French As part of the podcast series, “ArtsAbly in Conversation,” Diane Kolin interviewed Rachel Marks, a practicing Relaxed Performance Consultant who helps artistic organizations to welcome the neurodiverse and disability communities to their venues and performances.
This post presents the resources that she mentioned during the conversation.
Rachel Marks
Rachel Marks has been a practicing Relaxed Performance Consultant for several years. Prior to this Rachel has an extensive background in theatre (ie. Stage Manager, Playwright, Artist Educator, Box Office and FOH) and worked developing events and programming for children/youth on the Autism Spectrum and their families for almost eight years. Relaxed Performances are where Rachel combines her two career loves (Disability Action/Accessibility and Theatre). Rachel has helped Soulpepper Theatre Company and the Young Centre for Performing Arts, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Roy Thomson Hall, Thousand Islands Playhouse, the National Ballet of Canada, Comedy Bar (and many more!) to welcome the neurodiverse and disability communities to their venues and performances.
What is a relaxed performance?
The Relaxed Performance movement grew out of the autism community, but recently we’ve seen many different members of the community attend. These performances have the ability to break down barriers, welcome audiences who previously may have felt uncomfortable or unwelcome in artistic spaces, and create a more enjoyable experience for many.
Know more about relaxed performances explained by Rachel Marks
Orchestras Canada series: EnAbling Change
Orchestras Canada – in collaboration with Ontario Presents and Réseau Ontario, and in consultation with disability arts consultant Rachel Marks – is presenting six expert-led webinars titled EnAbling Change: Accessibility for the Performing Arts. Topics will include: An introduction to disability justice and accessibility legislation (specifically, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act); marketing; venues; programming (for performers, workers AND audiences); and community collaboration and partnerships.
Watch the EnAbling Change videos
Big Umbrella Festival
Annually each spring, Big Umbrella Festival welcomes kids, teens, and young adults for a weekend of programming, designed with and for neurodiverse audiences. Launched in 2018, the Big Umbrella Festival centers our audiences by sharing unique approaches to multi-sensory, interactive, and engaging artistic experiences. This past year’s events included a collaboration with ReelAbilities Film Festival, the largest festival in the world dedicated to showcasing ground-breaking films by and about people with disabilities.
Know more about the Big Umbrella Festival
Oily Cart Training
Oily Cart imagines the impossible and rips up the rule book of theatre to make it more accessible. They create highly crafted, interactive, sensory theatre that tours across the UK and internationally. Their performances integrate sounds, smells, touch, light and shadow, close-up choreography, live music and kinaesthetic movement (such as the audience floating in a hydrotherapy pool, or bouncing on a trampoline). They believe that children who have the most barriers to access have the right to experience world class theatre. Their sensory shows are close up, responsive and led by each young audience member. An Oily Cart show can take place on a stage, at home, online, on a trampoline, in your street, in the bath or even up in the air! They collaborate with the most exceptional artists to make accessible theatre that can work for everyone. All their shows are made for and with disabled artists of all ages.
Réseau SPARC Network
Réseau SPARC Network is a network whose purpose is to ignite and help sustain performing arts communities in rural and remote Ontario and beyond. In order for the performing arts scene to thrive they believe there needs to be people, services and systems that allow to communicate with each other effectively. The SPARC network has been designed so that it is owned, developed and controlled by the individuals, groups and organizations that make the performing arts happen in rural and remote areas.
Visit the Réseau SPARC Network website
Read about the Réseau SPARC Network symposium
International Teaching Artist Collaborative (ITAC)
The International Teaching Artists Collaborative (ITAC) is the world-wide network for artists who work in participatory settings to create positive social impact. These practitioners go by many titles in different countries and languages—often called Teaching Artists, Participatory Artists, Community Artists, or Socially Engaged Artists, and other titles. Whatever your title and artform, if you use your practice to activate the artistry of others, and guide that powerful force in people toward positive outcomes, ITAC welcomes you to their (free and growing) network.
Stratford Festival Accessible Performances
The Stratford Festival is committed to ensuring equal access and participation for people with disabilities. They are committed to treating people with disabilities in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. They believe in integration and they are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner. They do so by removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and meeting their accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and Ontario’s accessibility laws. The Stratford Festival is committed to meeting its current and ongoing obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code respecting non-discrimination. The Stratford Festival understands that obligations under the AODA and its accessibility standards do not substitute or limit its obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code or obligations to people with disabilities under any other law. The Stratford Festival is committed to excellence in serving and providing goods, services or facilities to all patrons including people with disabilities.
Know more about the Stratford Festival Accessible Performances
Erin Ball
Erin Ball is a white, neurodivergent, double below knee amputee. Erin is a circus artist based near Katarokwi/Kingston, Ontario and the artistic director of Kingston Circus Arts. Erin achieved Disability membership in 2014 and took a year off. Ze then began the process of un-learning ableism and internalized ableism and its many intersections, as well as re-learning circus arts and delving into the world of creative accessibility. Erin created a course to strive to welcome the Mad, Deaf, Neurodivergent, Chronically Ill, and Disability community into the realm of circus (and movement-based) arts as artists, audiences, etc. Erin travels internationally to perform, teach, and collaborate. Erin has been a movement-based artist for 15 years, and has co-produced and co-choreographed shows with numerous artists and access providers.
Read more about Erin Ball and Kingston Circus Arts
Maxime Beauregard
Maxime Beauregard (they/them) is a transgender non-binary autistic person and self-describes as a multi-potential-diverse human. A performing artist, arts administrator and 2SLGBTQIA+ bilingual educator, Maxime graduated from the School of Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT). Following graduation, Maxime worked on stage and/or backstage for multiple organizations. These include Banff Centre, the 2017 touring season of TDT, National accessArts Centre, Dancers’ Studio West, Alliance Française, and more. Soon after, in 2019, Maxime started performing across Canada as their drag king persona Alek Ginger Bend. Maxime has produced, consulted, and performed on multiple shows and dance short films. Performing as Alek, Maxime has so far won two Calgary competitions and has performed on multiple pride stages including Vancouver and Calgary Pride.
Read more and watch the video about Maxime Beauregard (in French)
Creative Connector: The Disability Files | Erin Ball and Maxime Beauregard
Interview of Erin and Maxime by Lyndsay, founder of Creative Connector. Erin and Maxime share what it’s like to create an alpha and beta project for FOLDA (Festival of Live Digital Art) in Kingston, ON, including a bit about their process, experimenting, and testing accessible practice.