Natalya Bondarchuk - about the play “The Others”, in which autistic children play on an equal basis with healthy peers and famous adult actors.

Theater workshop is another type of art therapy. Class theatrical art working with autistic people can be confusing, but it is also a very interesting way to work. Theater allows children with autism to understand their role and address feelings that are so difficult for them to understand. You know how difficult it is for them to express their grief or pain. They laugh both when they are hurt and when they are happy, and it is really very difficult for them to distinguish our feelings from theirs, to understand their and our feelings. Theatrical art is, of course, a strong word, but such activities help them simultaneously learn to move in space, feel another person and express their feelings. In some classes we learn to pretend that we are laughing or angry or that we are sad. There are classes where they work in pairs and pretend to quarrel. Sometimes we depict real family scenes. We attach great importance great importance these things, just as we specifically ask children to make very loud noises from musical instruments. We deliberately exaggerate the scale of an ordinary situation.

As I said above, in a theater workshop you can teach children how to move in space and at the same time instill in them social norms. It is enough to hang a curtain in the hall to create a “stage”, and then you can practice moving around the stage: entering it from one side and exiting from the other. Then you can make the task more difficult each time, for example, asking the child to walk back and forth across the stage twice. You can “arrange” a meeting for the children on stage, you can ask the child on the stage to call another, and all this is “for fun”.

We managed to stage a performance based on the fairy tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” which required whole year. We started by working on stage movement as I described above. Then, after looking through many picture books, we chose this fairy tale, dramatized it, and everyone chose a role. Naturally, the talking children chose the most best roles: Snow White, the king, the witch and the hunter who was supposed to kill Snow White. Non-speaking children got the roles of gnomes, and this is where big problems began. The roles were chosen, the plot was familiar, but nothing worked, and we stopped “rehearsals.” We started making decorations: trees, furniture for the gnomes' house and a castle. We made our own costumes: the dwarves had white caps and white T-shirts, the king built himself a crown and a beautiful cloak, the hunter made himself a sword and a hunting suit, and, of course, very Nice dress for Snow White... The day the children put on their costumes, work began. The children worked with utmost concentration. They really knew what they needed to do. They didn’t teach the role, the teacher simply recorded the text on a tape recorder, and we practiced scene by scene so that they could determine by ear what they needed to do. The performance was shown to other children. A funny thing happened during the performance. When the queen died, the king had to cry and wipe his tears with a handkerchief. But during the performance he did not have a handkerchief. He looked around, but instead of leaving for a handkerchief, he found me with his eyes (I was standing backstage) and made a sign to me that he needed a handkerchief. I threw him a handkerchief and he was able to continue!

At what age do theater classes begin? Children from secondary and senior groups Children's Center.

Do children understand what you tell them? To finish talking about theater, I want to remind you of our goal: to teach children to express themselves using theatrical techniques, that is, stage performances, fantasize, invent, create unusual situations for them. When they encounter such situations in life, they do not know how to manage them, they do not know how to control their anger or express their sadness, and classes in the theater workshop help them learn how to do this.

We use the MAKATON language in our work, which facilitates communication, and we are convinced that spoken language becomes increasingly meaningful for children, even if they do not speak. If they know that they can express themselves and that they will be understood, that they will be heard, that they can “speak” without necessarily using words, then they do not need to express their feelings through aggression, because they have another means to say that they feel bad. And, naturally, they generally become calmer.

From the book You Must Live! author Kalinauskas Igor Nikolaevich

THEATER OF LIFE Everyone knows Shakespeare's expression: “The whole world is a theater, in it women, men - all actors... and each plays more than one role.” And I would like to disagree with this. And in my opinion, I have quite serious reasons for this disagreement in our time. After many years

From the book On Acting Technique author Chekhov Mikhail Alexandrovich

Theater of the Future What was theater at its birth, what will it be and what has it become now? At its birth, theater was a means of receiving spiritual impulses that enriched human experience. In the future, the theater should return to a person all the experience that he could accumulate during

From the book Diagnosis of Karma. Book 2 author Lazarev Sergey Nikolaevich

THEATER AND ART I meet with the owner of a small art gallery and St. Petersburg. He takes paintings out of storage and displays them along the walls. Tell me which paintings you like and which ones you don’t? In addition to the subjective feeling, I also check the paintings. If the painting is high

From the book Autotrainings author Krasotkina Irina

THEATER OF THE ABSURD A good way to cope with a situation is to greatly exaggerate it. Take your fear to the point of absurdity. Imagine that you enter the office in wild tension, you are so lost that the walls of the office begin to shake with you. Or crawl on all fours, because

From the book Psychotechnologies of altered states of consciousness author Kozlov Vladimir Vasilievich

From the book Psychopedagogy and Autism. Experience working with children and adults by Sanson Patrick

Theater Theater workshop is another type of art therapy. Doing drama with autistic people can be confusing, but it is also a very interesting way to work. Theater allows children with autism to understand their role and address the feelings that they need.

From the book All about meetings after death by Moody Raymond

THEATER OF THE MIND Having learned what you mock, turn it into a desired subject of research. SOURCE UNKNOWN In the spring of 1990, as I already noted, equipped premises were required for further research on SZ, and I decided accordingly

From the book All about meetings after death [other edition] by Moody Raymond

THEATER OF THE MIND Having learned what you mock, turn it into a desired subject of research. Source unknown In the spring of 1990, as I already noted, equipped premises were required for further research on SZ, and I decided to transform accordingly

From the book Manipulator [Secrets of successful human manipulation] author Adamchik Vladimir Vyacheslavovich

Theater of the Absurd Reduction to the absurd - great way manage people! True, when this is applied to you, it does not cause excitement and fun, but emotions of a completely different kind. The opponent expressed an argument - you are considering it, exaggerating it, bringing it to the point of absurdity, and From the book Fear. Voluptuousness. Death author Kurpatov Andrey Vladimirovich

From the book Samaya important book for parents (collection) author Gippenreiter Yulia Borisovna

Puppet theater After much ordeal, my friend and I were convinced that further work with amateurs (that’s what we called our brother, sisters and everyone except ourselves) is impossible either in the circus business or in ballet. In addition, with such management of the enterprise, the most important thing is lost

From the book Dramatherapy by Valenta Milan

1.1.2. Educational Theater Concept educational theater corresponds English term theater in education (TIE). Its essence is a theatrical performance, in which, as a rule, people take part professional actors, this view haunts

From the book Summerhill - education with freedom author Neill Alexander Sutherland

As part of the social project of the Golden Knight theater forum in Moscow, the play “The Others” was shown, dedicated to the problems of children suffering from autism. Natalya Bondarchuk, screenwriter and director of the children's professional theater “Bambi,” spoke about the details of the work on the RP play.

- Natalya Sergeevna, your play “The Others” is about children suffering from autism and how difficult it is for their parents in an unenlightened society. Did the production involve children who actually suffer from autism?

Yes, I have children with autism in my play, and I don’t want to turn them into a zoo. Here was a child, uniquely gifted, and he did everything that was required on stage. I will not specifically say what gender this child is. Let me just say that I met our artist’s mother at one of the conferences. We got to talking, and I suggested that her child try to work out in my kindergarten professional theater"Bambi." They came and did everything right away, and did a great job. Then it was necessary to read the text in the recording studio, and the child coped with the task brilliantly. Now it is difficult to distinguish him from ordinary children involved in the play. Of course, I was worried that rehearsals are one thing, but when a little more attention is paid to special children, they can become withdrawn. But this was not the case. Everything happened as I expected.

- Is it easy for you to work with special children?

Yes, it's easy for me to work. But please note: there are different forms of autism. Some children, despite their peculiarities, are very sociable, while others do not like excessive attention. Artem Rabins, who played the main character in the play “The Others,” has an older brother who is autistic, and in a very severe form. He came to our hall, but did not want to participate in the performance. Despite this, he is very interesting person. The brothers love each other, they have established contact, and this is very important. But for me it is important that our actor learned everything from his brother: to move like autistic people, to speak, to burr a little, and so on. I could not wait for such a child, I could take him main role another, but then everything would be untrue.

- Does the stage help special children open up?

Yes. We had a boy with cerebral palsy, and when I invited him, he was an outcast in society. He was not taken into any kindergarten, not to school, not to any clubs. He was the smartest child and very talented, but so peculiar. I gave him the role of the main robber in " To the Snow Queen" He was funny, like a cuttlefish, due to his plasticity, his speech was slightly impaired. And the audience didn't know about it. They saw the funny chief robber and applauded. The child was absolutely happy. Do you know who this child became? As a child psychologist, he wanted to rehabilitate children like him. I also had a girl whose one hand was dry. And we came up with a costume for her with wings, she played a bird for us. Her withered hands were not visible, and she coped with the role perfectly. I also remembered a phenomenal incident that happened to us. A girl, Zhenechka Tchaikovskaya, who was paralyzed after the flu, corresponded with our children's theater. She was carried in her arms to children's performance in Simferopol, because she was not walking. She watched our performance and suddenly got up and went! Theater heals, but you just need faith, this is very important.

- How, in your opinion, did the audience receive the play “The Others”?

You know, when I went on stage, I thought that no one had come to the performance. There was such silence. But a lot of people came, there were a lot of children. In such natural, incredible silence in the hall it is very convenient for artists to play. Because such a performance cannot be performed in a noisy hall.

Many people took part in the play “Others” famous people, including Elena Proklova. Was it easy for her to agree to take part in a production with such an important social theme?

When I invited Lena Proklova to play the main role, I simply explained literally two or three lines from the script, and she said: “Natasha, I got goosebumps.” Today, during the rehearsal, she watched the play from the sidelines for the first time; her role was played by another actress from our children's theater. Lena was all dressed up and came to the show even more attuned to her role. But her readiness is phenomenal. In general, I admire Lena, I have such a tender feeling for her now! She is a true professional and, as it turns out, an excellent teacher. Lena did very important notes to our little artists and helped us a lot.

Photo: Alexey Sovertkov / “Russian Planet”

- At the same time, the performance was absolutely free for spectators, admission was by invitation.

Yes, thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture, this performance was charitable. I fundamentally want all screenings of “The Others” to be free for viewers, this is social project. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare society so that such performances are supported by trade unions, because actors work, and, unfortunately, we cannot simply ask them to do this for a bowl of soup. Therefore, I urge everyone who is not indifferent to help us somehow. We don’t need much just to survive as a theater and as people, so I really hope for a response from society.

- Will you tour with this performance and somehow continue the topic raised in other productions?

Necessarily. I think that our first tour will be in Ryazan, we have already agreed on this with the Minister of Culture and Tourism Ryazan region Vitaly Popov. The most difficult thing that awaits us when touring is transporting very complex scenery. They are voluminous, they were made by my wonderful friend - the artist Sergei Vorobyov, who worked on the films “Pushkin: The Last Duel” and “Gogol. Nearest". He made powerful, stunning sets that can transform, but you need money to transport them. And transportation must be well prepared. I want to show this performance on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day. This is very important topic, and you need to draw attention to it.

My thoughts are to continue this theme, this performance. I want there to be a second performance with the same actors, but to continue the plot. I have already submitted this project to the Ministry of Culture, it will be called “Challenge”. And also, you know, I dream that a film will be born from the play. I will do everything possible to plead with the Ministry of Culture, because this is a very important topic. I would put her in the very, very first place.

Photo: Alexey Sovertkov / “Russian Planet”

Just by the way your eyes light up when you touch on this topic, it is clear that you have put a lot of effort and soul into it.

I have been working on the topic of children with autism for 20 years. It was so many years ago in Klaipeda in Lithuania that I first saw a boy sitting and constantly looking at one point. I asked: what’s wrong with him? I was told it was autism. That was the first time I heard about this diagnosis. It turned out that America had overtaken us here. Not only did they make Rain Man, they made an amazing Feature Film"Temple Grandin", as many as ten global films about autism. And yet this topic has not yet been completely disclosed. Humanity has not yet figured out what it is facing. But it is very important to have time to understand this. I did not say the following information from the stage: it has already been calculated that now every 68th person on planet Earth has autistic syndrome, only with in different forms manifestations. The number of autistic people increases by 15–20% per year. Scientists have estimated that perhaps in 10 years, every second child in America will be born with autism spectrum disorder. Then, excuse me, what wars? Everything will fade into the background. And in the first place will be the evolutionary change of humanity - that’s what awaits us. This is the problem I dedicated the play to.

Your performance gives hope that our society will be able to understand and accept special children. Their parents really need the support of others.

I want to say to the parents of such children: know that, first of all, you are not alone. Fortunately or unfortunately, there are already a lot of such parents. And it’s really true: fathers often cannot stand the current situation, and the burden of worries falls on mothers. I filmed an episode for a play in Sevastopol. There, the mother talks about her child, without, of course, hiding the fact that he is autistic; her son is already six years old. She's like that bright man, and when I asked: please tell me, how do you feel about this? As a punishment from the Lord or, on the contrary, as a gift? She says: of course, like a gift! This is how you should approach it. These children teach us love. And I want to tell everyone: learn love from such children. Then we will have a humane humanity. What, in fact, is what this performance is dedicated to: learning to love and respect all forms of neurological development of humanity. Because we are not the same. None of us are the same, and by the way, we all have traits of autism. Everyone can remember that in some situations they behaved like our heroes. Therefore, it is important to understand, forgive and love.

PHOTO Vladislav Kobets

“I have a sinister laugh, I will laugh more quietly.” “Don’t, you’ll ruin the drawing of the role. We'll just remove the echo. And in general, I make the decisions here!” The assistant director is a little concerned, which is understandable. The adaptation of the play for children with autism, many of whom have never been to the theater before, is happening here for the first time. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in which people are unable to social interaction, inevitably dooms them to life within four walls. In addition, people with autism often suffer from some form of sensory addiction - some cannot tolerate bright light, some in complete darkness, some have difficulty perceiving sharp sounds or movements - which means the performance will have to be slightly changed to suit the needs of the public.

I already have experience. Exactly a year ago, the Disney company and the Exit Foundation adapted the musical “Beauty and the Beast” for the first time for children with ASD, and later, within a year, adapted screenings of the films “Cinderella” and “Inside Out” were held in different cinemas across the country. The Exit Foundation has developed special program"Autism. Friendly environment" that helps you adapt public places for people with ASD.

The first stage of preparation is the so-called “social history”. This step by step description what a person can expect at the event and how to behave at it. Ordinary (neurotypical) people, even if they are new to the theater, understand that during the performance they need to look at the stage and remain silent. For an autistic viewer this is not at all obvious; he needs preparation.

An important condition for comfort is hints in the form of pictures. Many of those present are guided only by them. Buffet, toilet, hand washing, wardrobe - for everything there are accepted schematic images, which are called “visual schedule”.

The next stage is to adapt the performance for people with hypersensitivity: lower the volume of the sound, do not turn off the lights completely and do not close the doors so that you can leave the hall and then return. Few spectators are able to sit through the entire performance. For some, even 15 minutes is an achievement.

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Finally, next to auditorium There should be a sensory unloading area with soft beanbag chairs that are comfortable to lie on, a dry pool and a tent where you can retire and relax before, after and during the performance.

At the St. Petersburg Theater musical comedy such an area is equipped in the Walnut Hall with its dark green walls, carved ceiling, massive wooden fireplace and mirror in a lush gilded frame. Thanks to multi-colored balls and soft mats, the noble interior looks fun and somewhat strange - just like the Golden Foyer, decorated with intertwined garlands of bright blue balls.

However, the main thing in adaptation is not the beautiful premises, but the performance itself. The light and sound have already been adjusted, but during the run-through the actors are still worried. They had just been explained in detail what autism is, how it manifests itself, and how to react to it correctly. They took what they heard to heart and now do not dare to shout or make sudden movements on stage. So the guard throws Aladdin into prison and chains him.

“Shouldn’t you also hit me?” – the performer of the role of Aladdin clarifies. “This is unnecessary,” the guard answers, “the children will be scared.” Pomerezh does not interfere in the dialogue - apparently, he also decided that it was better not to hit anyone, especially since the main trick is ahead: Aladdin kidnaps his princess, they disappear from the stage for a second, and then suddenly fall off the top tier and fly over the heads of the audience , either dropping very low, or soaring up to the ceiling on a spectacularly illuminated platform depicting a flying carpet. After consultations with a representative of the foundation, they decide to leave the episode with the carpet unchanged; it would be a pity to give up such a spectacle.

Spectators gather closer to 16.00. These are both children and adults - the wards of the center for creativity, education and social habilitation for people with autism “Anton is here.” The behavior of many visitors may seem strange: some of the little ones are spinning in place, waving their arms and screaming. One boy lies down on the floor and never wants to get up, no matter how his mother and grandmother persuade him. A tall guy in round glasses approaches everyone with the question: “Today is a holiday, right? Is today a big holiday? Volunteers in blue T-shirts with the inscription Disney are standing everywhere; they are specially instructed to come to the rescue in all difficult, unplanned situations. However, they are not observed. Everyone reacts well to the performance; even the many people with photo and video cameras standing in the aisles do not interfere. During the magic carpet scene, the children shout "yay!" and wave from the audience to the actors flying above their heads.

Meanwhile, blue paper bags with toys, coloring books and gluten-free sweets begin to be brought in from the service entrance. There are a lot of gifts (“for everyone and in abundance,” as the organizers from the Disney company said), some children take two. And yet many of them cry and do not want to leave.

After the performance, the staff of the Anton Is Near Center collected feedback from the audience.

Irina Khorokhorina:"I'm in the past theater critic, and there were always many opportunities to go to the theater with my daughter, but I never dared, it was a little scary. So this was the first step for us and Anya. Excellent, one might even say ideal, conditions were created for children. My daughter really liked everything. There were no problems in the theater. The problems started “overboard” - I really didn’t want to leave, until I screamed.”
Anastasia Abdulazizova:“Dark cinema halls have always been a problem for children, and it’s great that everything was adapted here. It's good that the sound was muffled. And treats that made the children's eyes immediately run wild! This was the first theater for Plato, I watched the whole thing, from beginning to end, without getting up.”
Nargiz Zamanova:“I am very impressed, I would like to attend such events more often. My son was especially interested when there were objects on stage that were familiar to him, such as a parrot or a motorcycle - he immediately concentrated his attention. It was a holiday not only for children, but also for parents, I myself had a rest, I had never dared to go anywhere with him before. Once we tried to go to the circus, but our son was noisy there, and the audience, of course, looked at us askance. But on “Aladdin” I felt calm, I didn’t limit my son, I didn’t pull him back, as always, and he also felt free and calm.”
Anna Ermolaeva:“My six-year-old son did not want to leave the hall, although he understood little about the performance. But no one forced him to sit straight on a chair, and he could, whenever he wanted, go up to the stage and see up close how they sing and dance there. Nobody stopped him from having fun the way he wanted.”
Julia Nemerad:“My son is 17, and we haven’t been to the theater for a very long time, it’s difficult to choose a performance and comfortable conditions, but here he liked everything. He was happy".

Olga Tomashevskaya

In Minsk there is a unique family theater in which children with autism appear on stage along with ordinary children. “There is nothing like this anywhere in the world,” says Dutch director Hans Saleminck, who has been working with children with autism since the early 1990s. But if in the world sponsors are lining up to help such a theater develop, then in Belarus a desperate person is looking for money father of many children and producer Leonid Dinerstein. He is 56, knows nothing about crowdfunding and fundraising, and has never dealt with sick children before. But when Dinerstein saw how children with autism and after for long years silences begin not only to speak, but also to take the stage in leading roles, he is stuck in this project.

“Names” met with Dinerstein to find out why the theater, which really helps children with autism and which everyone calls a cool project, is on the brink of survival every day.

- Lenya, usually such projects are carried out by people who have sick children. But I take it you don't have a personal history with autism?

With my four children, thank God, I was not familiar with this problem before the theater. But something like this happened. I have a colleague Ira Pushkareva, she has her own studio where children are taught choreography, music, acting. Five years ago children were brought to her with psychological problems and different behavioral reactions. This is how the family inclusive theater “i” appeared. Ira quietly studied. Good teaching hands yielded results. In the end I turned to Pushkareva public organization"Children. Autism. Parents". They brought a sponsor to the rehearsal, who agreed to finance the musical for big stage. With one condition - the premiere is needed in two and a half months, on Children's Day. These are incredible times. Ira called me. And then everything moved at the speed of light.

Leonid Dinerstein is known as one of the creators of the brightest and loudest art projects in the 1990s - the Alternative Theater and the “Class Club”, which became the centers of cultural events in Minsk for several years. Photo: Lana Krasikova, Names

It could have all ended in one performance, but during the rehearsals I came across world statistics. I, of course, went nuts. Every hundred and second girls, every fifty-eighth boys in the world have autism. If I transfer this to Belarusian demographics, it turns out to be 22,000 children. We have 1200 registered children with autism. Where are the other 20,000?

- And where are they?

Don't know. Often parents do not make a diagnosis. Can you imagine how to live with such a recording? When a child grows up, the entry “autism” is often changed to “schizophrenia”, where does he go with this?

We have Mishka in the theater, his parents basically do not diagnose him, and he studies in a regular school. The guy is lucky to have teachers: he was allowed to sit under his desk the entire primary school, now he is an excellent student and goes to competitions.

Anton (in the photo in a colored raincoat) loves to sing. Photo: from the theater archive

But Kastus Zhibul, the son of very wise philologists, actually studies at home; at school everything is too difficult for him.

11-year-old Kastus Zhibul from Minsk has Asperger syndrome. He has been going to the theater for a year now. Behavioral characteristics prevent him from studying at school independently, but hiring an accompanying tutor from his family is famous representatives Minsk creative intelligentsia, Victor and Vera Zhibul - there is no possibility yet. Kostya studies at home, and the theater - the only place, where he has real communication and inclusion in society. The boy became not only an actor, but also the author of the play “Chygunka”, the plot of which he invented himself. Photo: tut.by

There is also Max Lagun - a magnificent artist, fantastic. The guy draws in art studio, one on one with a teacher and an easel. And with us, having found ourselves in the noise, hustle and bustle, at first he sat in the corner. And only on the fifth rehearsal Max came to the children. We specifically introduced the role of the Silent Hare for him. He also designed prints for the costumes.

- And children with autism weren’t afraid of the big stage?

No. Everyone played in the first performance, it was “Flute-Charadzeika” at the Philharmonic. Big hall, full house, side chairs. The children played fantastically. Ilya, for example, sang in the finale. On stage I did what I had to do. He never completely succeeded in this during rehearsals.

Ilya sang on stage. He couldn't do it during rehearsals. Photo: family.by

- And after this performance you decided to continue the project?

When you are already over fifty dollars, you realize that there are signs and you need to hear them. After the premiere, I suggested that Velcom take the performance to five cities and do five briefings. To show that autism is not a fatal problem, that there is a way out. And they agreed.

When we left, Ira said: “Listen, how do we take them?” And then I just realized that there is no money for additional transport, everyone will travel on one bus - both with autism and without. A bus, a closed space where children with autism have no opportunity to be alone, to be in their shell. Four and a half hours there, we had lunch there, played - and four and a half hours ago.

On tour in Mogilev. Photo: bobrlife.by

But in the end, for all the children it was a real holiday, and for children with autism it’s generally a crazy leap. They've been evolving all this time, you know? Precisely because we found ourselves in a healthy, non-aggressive team. In an environment open to inclusion, where they are equal.

Our theater is almost the only place where they can work on equal terms. Children with autism and children with Down syndrome are two categories for which there is no other way of socialization other than a full integration into a healthy environment. For them, this is the only way to understand how this world works. And for other, ordinary children, it becomes a crazy inoculation of tolerance, tolerance and understanding that there are special children. We have a balance in the theater that is ideal for socialization - 85% healthy children (50 people) and 15% children with autism (13 children).

In the “i” family inclusive theater, not only children with autism perform, but also their ordinary peers. Parents of such children see theater as therapy for children with autism and an opportunity to understand and accept a different world. And Minsk schoolchildren and schoolgirls learn to perceive “special” children as equals. Photo: Lana Krasikova, Names

There are no concessions for children with autism at rehearsals. Hans Saleminck, our Dutch colleague who has been working with autistic people since the early 1990s, was stunned at our rehearsals. He himself has been doing the play for a year, and for the last three months he has not changed anything, because these children have difficulty adapting to changes. Hans works only with autistic people, his troupe is not inclusive, there are no healthy children in it. I saw his troupe - these are people aged eighteen to twenty-six years old, with whom he works with childhood. If he had not told me anything about autism, I would have seen a well-chosen troupe of third or second year theater students.

Max hardly spoke - in everyday life, at least. And six months later he spoke tongue twisters on stage

So when Hans saw what we were doing here, he said: “You guys are the only ones. What I do, almost no one does, but what you do, definitely no one does. I don’t know any analogues.” So we entered the zone of absolute know-how.

Children with autism develop gradually. The same Max who was originally the Silent Hare. He hardly spoke - in everyday life, at least. And six months later he was speaking tongue twisters on stage. Everyone around us shouted: “Two tutors behind your back, God forbid something happens.” Max’s mother was nearby, and our psychologist was nearby all the time. But it was real, it was not a game, he went to a live team and worked there fully. In our second performance, “Chygunka”, half of the scenery is his. And he came out with a speaking role.

Max's first role (pictured in the center) was the role of the Silent Hare. Then the guy practically didn’t speak. Six months later he was already delivering tongue twisters from the stage. Misha (pictured left) has a phenomenal memory. Photo: family.by

Yes, Kastus Zhibul. We kept all his moves in the play. Yes, they helped with the development of drama, but at the same time clearly retained the logic of a person with autism. And he played the main role!

- What kind of logic is this?

Their logic is this: it can seem to go in one direction, and then suddenly, suddenly - once! - and go sideways. He might start panic attack, it’s not clear why, everyone has their own way. One of Kastus's characters is Kot-naadavarot - this is his essence.

The process was very difficult, of course, because out of the thirty children who ended up working there, seven were with autism.

- Still, how did it happen that having come to this project by accident, you decided not only to stay in it, but also to develop it further?

I'll explain now. Here look. A boy appears here - he’s so big, he’s even overweight. He was born normal, and then stopped talking. This happens in children with autism. The boy was bullied in all schools. He came to us so intimidated, but at the first lesson I literally watched him - he was just bursting, he wanted everything so much. And in the end my mother calls me: “Listen, what did you do with the child? The first time he came happy.” As a result, he received one of the main roles. I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy goes to theater school in three years. These are the things that happen before our eyes.

Vlad's girl, who came at the age of 14. A beautiful girl, she wants to become an actress, but at first she hardly spoke. Grandma understood her, but we almost didn’t. It took her six months to complete the sketch. Yes, she is afraid of sudden movements, cannot stand it for two hours, and is afraid of screaming. But these are not at all the fears with which she came six months ago.

During rehearsals in an inclusive theater, participants in a particular scene may change, and at the very last moment Before the performance, an actor with autism will want to play a completely different role. It happens. In this scene, for example, Ilya had previously appeared on stage alone with his mother. And then his soul demanded extras, and instead of his mother, two girls went on stage with him. Changes were immediately made to the script. After all, the main thing in inclusive theater is that children with autism feel comfortable and do not close themselves off in the shell of their inner world. Photo: Denis Zelenko, Names

I was hooked when I saw how these children were developing. That's why I'm stuck. How to get out of this? I probably have another twenty years. Maybe I'll be healthy enough. I want to create a territory of free creativity, which does not fight with anyone, in which normal people grow free individuals. Let each of them then build their own territory around themselves.

- Where does the money come from for inclusive theater?

I'm looking where I can. At fifty-six, I am involved in fundraising. The way I did it royally in the early nineties, when my colleagues and I “stirred up” the Alternative Theater in Minsk. Then his businessman friends gave him money. Now some of my old friends are helping a little. Velcom financed the performance. But this is a one-time help. The process requires, albeit not very large, but constant financial support. We need a rehearsal facility, a room about two hundred and fifty meters in size, in which there is a room about ninety meters long for classes - with a machine, a mirror, a covering. There is a warehouse nearby to store some things, a couple of locker rooms, a room where something can happen. Such a workshop would be needed for two years, and during this time, it is necessary to build or look for a hall. It is necessary for children to have somewhere to come.

Leonid is offended that everyone calls theater for children with autism cool project, but no one is interested in financing it. Photo: Lana Krasikova, Names

We need constant video monitoring. Because it's ready methodological material. The methods that we create here can be replicated anywhere, in Grodno, Gomel, Kaliningrad - wherever there are people who are ready to work with it.

One of the next tasks is to change public opinion in relation to autism. When we spoke the word “autism” to society a year and a half ago, society was scared and distant. Now I see that the reaction is different. We've come a long way.

- The state can’t help?

We would like help from the state. But in fact, we understand that no state has the strength to fully implement such a project as inclusive theater. Take any country - it will be the same. However, in Europe the way is open for private financing, and there are benefits for sponsors. For organizations like ours, in European countries money moves on its own. With us it's the other way around.

“By the time I got involved in inclusive theater, I thought that all my madness was over. And that there will definitely no longer be anything theatrical in my life,” says Dinerstein. Photo: Lana Krasikova, Names

How can you help?

“Names” raises money to support the “Theater for Children with Autism” project. They are needed to pay for the work of acting teachers and a psychologist, rent premises and promote the project. In total for a year of work it is necessary to collect 53 100 rubles Still counting 1 719 rubles

Today, 63 children are involved in the family inclusive theater, 13 of them are children with autism. Part of the theater's costs is covered by families who pay for classes theater studio. But this money is sorely lacking for the development of the project. Your donations will allow us to educate 30 children with autism. And if the theater has its own premises, 60 children with autism will be able to study. Every ruble is important for the project.

“Names” works with the money of readers. You send 5, 10, 20 rubles, and we make new stories and help even more people. “Names” are for readers, readers are for “Names”. Click here and choose a convenient method for translation!

On April 2, World Autism Awareness Day, Disney and the Coming Out Foundation invite parents with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder to attend the fairy-tale musical “Beauty and the Beast” at the Rossiya Theater in Moscow.

Families of children with autism are invited to attend the performance, and we have tried to tailor the event to suit their needs. Special performances and film screenings for children and adults with autism have long been practiced in many countries, and this year such an event will take place for the first time in Russia.

The musical "Beauty and the Beast" - a stage adaptation of the well-known Disney cartoon for children and adults. Since high sensitivity and other characteristics may prevent children with autism from attending the theater, special conditions will be created during the performance. The volume will be reduced and some sound, lighting and other effects will be eliminated.

The theater will have a special relaxation room for sensory relief, and if necessary, children and their parents can visit it during the performance. To prevent overload, viewers can always go into the lobby or break room, and then return and continue watching.

All event participants, including the musical actors, will undergo special training on the specifics of interaction with children and adults with ASD. Special assistants will be on duty in the theater premises, always ready to help parents in case of any problems.

The performance and all events within it are held FREE of charge for children and parents.

On the day of the performance, the theater will have a buffet with gluten-free sweets and juices. Children will be offered face painting, and at the exit the audience will receive a special gift from the Disney campaign.

The duration of the performance is three hours with one intermission. We ask parents to independently assess how difficult it will be for their children to take part in such an event, and to consider the interests of the child when making a decision.

Parents are encouraged to work with their child at home social history about visiting the performance. An example of such a story can be downloaded from the website.

The performance will take place on April 2, at the Moscow Rossiya Theater (Pushkinskaya Square, 2 metro Tverskaya, Pushkinskaya, Chekhovskaya). Collection time: 15.00. Start time of the performance: 16.00. Please note that on theater tickets The standard start time for the musical is 19:00, but our performance starts at 16:00!

Tickets can be obtained through the parent organization ROO “Contact” (headed by Elena Bagaradnikova) by contacting her by email