Globe’s autism-friendly ‘Grinch’ has helped spark a movement

The lighting is subdued, the surprises are dialed back and the sound is toned down for the annual sensory-friendly version of “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” at the Old Globe.

But it’s another aspect of the theater’s special performance of the holiday favorite that Katie Sapper finds most striking.

As she puts it: “There’s this exhale in the whole room.”

Sapper is a busy San Diego-based actress whose brother Stevenson, 24, has autism. Theater has long been a huge part of her life, and yet for years it was not something her whole family could enjoy together.

Last year, though, Sapper took in the sensory-friendly performance of the “Grinch” with Stevenson and the siblings’ parents, and marveled at the welcoming and joyful feeling of a show where no one in the audience had to worry about being shushed or stared at for not following the usual rules of audience decorum.

“To finally get the opportunity to share theater with Stevenson is something I don’t know that my parents and I ever conceived happening,” Sapper says.

And when that moment finally came, “I was a wreck,” she admits. “Getting to sit next to him was so remarkable and such a gift.”

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This Saturday, the Globe presents its sensory-friendly “Grinch” for the sixth time. The Balboa Park institution was the first regional theater in the country to offer such a performance, taking cues from a pioneering program on Broadway.

Since then, at least a dozen other theaters across the nation have been inspired to launch similar programs, and the idea has been embraced locally by such organizations as San Diego Junior Theatre, the San Diego Symphony and California Ballet, which last year became the first professional ballet company on the West Coast to present a sensory-friendly performance of “The Nutcracker.” (It will offer one again Dec. 16; Junior Theatre also will present a sensory-friendly “Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon” on Jan. 13.)

A good portion of those developments can be traced to a moment Lisa Porter spent in the Old Globe basement six years ago with her daughter, Daisy.

Porter is a professor in the University of California San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance, as well as a theatrical stage manager. That day in 2011, she had accompanied Daisy’s elementary-school class to a performance of “The Grinch.”

But for Daisy, who is on the autism spectrum, some aspects of the show were difficult to deal with.

She wasn’t permitted to stand near the doorway, her favorite vantage point. And combined with the complete darkness and noise that punctuated some scenes, “it was game over” at that point, Porter recalls.

So mom and daughter wound up listening to the show on a speaker in the basement. And “the wheels just started to turn in my head,” Porter says.

The New York-based Theatre Development Fund had just pioneered autism-friendly performances of “The Lion King” to a welcome reception on Broadway.

So Porter, who had a close friend involved in the project, soaked up everything she could about how the idea worked.

Then she emailed Globe management to ask, “Would you even entertain this concept?”

With Porter aboard as a consultant, the theater embraced the idea. As she now does virtually every year, Porter spoke to the cast during rehearsals, filling them in on what to expect and what would be helpful for audience members with autism, a condition that often is accompanied by sensory difficulties.

Now, she says, “the actors talk about it being one of the favorite moments of the whole run.”

Old Globe artistic director Barry Edelstein says the annual performance has become an integral part of the extensive arts-engagement efforts the theater has launched under his tenure.

“We’re working on this whole effort where we say, ‘The Globe believes that theater matters, and our commitment is to make it matter to more people.’

“And this is one of the communities that theater should matter to.”

He also views the sensory-friendly shows as a “tremendously powerful experience for these families,” who often can’t bring members with special needs to a play for fear of disturbing other audience members.

For Porter, the sensory-friendly concept has become a passion project and part of a larger effort toward inclusion in the arts.

She recently flew to New York to see Tectonic Theater Project’s “Uncommon Sense,” a new play whose cast includes an actor on the spectrum; that production’s run includes “relaxed” performances geared toward those with special needs. (The play will tour, and Porter is hoping it comes to San Diego.)

Porter is also developing a full class at UC San Diego on disability and performance.

Meanwhile, sensory-friendly performances have spread to companies across the country, many of them supported by the Theatre Communication Group’s Audience (R)Evolution grants.

The Theatre Development Fund’s Autism Theatre Initiative also continues to host performances on Broadway — including one today of the La Jolla Playhouse-bred musical “Come From Away.”

And on Saturday, when the sensory-friendly “Grinch” returns to San Diego, Katie Sapper plans to be there again alongside her brother — who turns 25 that day.

Her birthday wish for him: “I hope the Old Globe continues this tradition forever.”

‘Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’

When: Sensory-friendly performance, 10:30 a.m. Saturday (Dec. 9).

Where: Old Globe Theatre’s Shiley Stage, Balboa Park.

Tickets: $29-$45. (Tickets for this performance available only by phone or at box office.) Under 2 admitted free but must occupy same seat as parent or guardian. Every attendee must have a ticket.

Phone: (619) 234-5623

Online: theoldglobe.org

‘The Nutcracker’

When: Autism-friendly performance, 10 a.m. Dec. 16.

Where: California Ballet at the Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown.

Tickets: $25-$50

Phone: (858) 560-6741

Online: californiaballet.org/autism-friendly-nutcracker/

What to expect at the sensory-friendly ‘Grinch’

Slight adjustments are made to the production, including fewer loud noises and flashing lights; continual low-level illumination from house lights; no fog and snow effects; decreased overall sound levels; and toned-down delivery by the actors.

Additional features include:

• An opportunity to schedule a private, preshow “Meet Your Seat” visit to the theater at any time before the performance for families to familiarize themselves with Balboa Park and the Old Globe.
• Freedom to make noise, move around or exit and enter the theater during the show.
• Availability of an online social story about a visit to the Globe for parents to view and print at home. Go to theoldglobe.org/arts-engagement/discovery-programs/grinch-initiatives.
• Quiet areas in the theater lobbies with comfortable chairs, headphones, fidgets, art supplies, heavy blankets and other calming items.
• Trained Autism Society volunteers stationed throughout the theater and lobbies to assist families as needed.
• Volunteers on the edges of the stage with lanterns to indicate when something loud or sudden may happen.

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jimhebert