Open Door Theater’s 2024 production, The Wizard of Oz, opened on Friday, March 15 at the Dragonfly Theater located at the RJ Grey Junior High School on Charter Road. The matinees on both Saturday and Sunday were sold out, with groups attending from the Perkins School, The Learning Center for the Deaf, the Corwin Russell School at Broccoli Hall, the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, and Deaf, Blind and disabled patrons from as far away as New York City, Minnesota and Texas in addition to families and other community members.
Photo: Alissa Nicol
Open Door Theater (ODT) has been producing accessible and inclusive shows in Acton since 1980. The organization’s hallmark is a multi-generational, multi-gendered, diverse,neurodiverse, Deaf, disabled and nondisabled cast and crew. For the audience members, all shows are American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted, sensory friendly, and open captioned. Assisted listening devices and accessible seating are available, a sensory pre-show introduces the actors and the characters they play, and a live feed is available in the hall outside the theater for anyone needing to take a break. Audio described shows take place the second weekend, March 22-24.
Audiences can expect high production values from every ODT staging, including a live orchestra and richly creative design elements. The brightly colored props were created by students at Art for All, an inclusive community arts organization located in West Concord. The in-house costume team worked tirelessly to create a rainbow of costumes for actors playing featured roles as well as a sixty person, and one service dog, ensemble, more than half who identify with Deafness and disabilities. Vibrant digital backdrops, set pieces and makeup designs were created by neurodivergent and non-binary former ODT actor Nala J. Wu. Multimedia features include a swirling tornado and a dynamic projection of the Deaf actor’s larger-than-life hands, signing the commands of the Wizard, designed by access expert Connor Riordan. A member of the ASL interpretive team voices these lines as an accommodation for the hearing audience members who do not know ASL.
The Production Team includes Margot Law, Director; Kathryn Denney, Musical Director; Becky Robichaud, Choreographer; Kristin Johnson, Director of Artistic Sign Language; Jess Penney, Stage Manager; Jennette Kollmann, Technical Director; and Producers Sam Gould and Dawn Gomez. This year, the organization received permission from the licensing agency to change some of the dialogue that was outdated and racist to avoid harm to community members.
“Know Before You Go” features on ODT’s website and social media include an ASL vlog describing the show and characters, audio descriptions for the cast and costumes, sets, and way finding and theater, as well as a social story with text and photos. At the theater, tactile tours are held for audience members to handle props, costume accessories, and a stage model. A participatory disability training was held at one of the rehearsals for cast, crew, and access providers to learn or refresh their skills, and those who excelled using “their hearts (to help a friend), their brains (to problem solve) and their courage (to step out of their comfort zone)” were specially acknowledged. ODT President, Boxborough resident Sam Gould, summarizes, “Everyone on this show, myself included, is stretching a little bit out of our comfort zones to create this magical land of Oz.”
For tickets to this weekend’s shows March 22-24, visit opendoortheater.org. Discounted tickets are available to EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare card holders. Expected in the audience are box office ADA reps from theaters and museums around MA and NY and a Blind audio describer who recently worked on a Super Bowl commercial and the Oscars, Nefertiti Matos Olivares. ODT demonstrates best practices, and the organization’s outreach arm, Think Outside the Vox, also works to expand and improve access by consulting with other theater organizations, leading workshops at conferences, and providing training. According to Gould, both organizations are “growing the field of authentic casting/crew representation and culturally competent access providers.”