Nicole is joined by Stephen Santa and (surprise!) Claire Carbone for a deep-dive on Jumping Jack Theater, a Pittsburgh-based theatre company specializing in sensory-enriched theatre for young autistic audiences. They discuss the company’s production history and approach to crafting theatrical experiences that empower children with autism, and how they have adapted to the pandemic with a traveling show.
Jumping Jack Theater online:
Website: www.jumpingjacktheater.org
Instagram: @jumpingjacktheater
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JumpingJackTheater
Produced by Scott MacDonald
Artwork by Sasha & Alexander Schwartz
https://breakalegpod.buzzsprout.com/
Nicole is joined by Stephen Santa and (surprise!) Claire Carbone for a deep-dive on Jumping Jack Theater, a Pittsburgh-based theatre company specializing in sensory-enriched theatre for young autistic audiences. They discuss the company’s production history and approach to crafting theatrical experiences that empower children with autism, and how they have adapted to the pandemic with a traveling show.
Jumping Jack Theater online:
Website: www.jumpingjacktheater.org
Instagram: @jumpingjacktheater
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JumpingJackTheater
Produced by Scott MacDonald
Artwork by Sasha & Alexander Schwartz
https://breakalegpod.buzzsprout.com/
Welcome to Break a Leg! A podcast that explores the relationship between disability and the arts. I'm your host, Nicole Zimmerer, and on today's episode our guest is Stephen Santa. Stephen Santa is the co-founder and artistic director of Jumping Jack Theater, a children's theatre company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that creates original sensory theatre productions for audiences with developmental disabilities and sensory sensitivities. Stephen, thank you so much for being here.
Stephen Santa:Hi, Nicole, thank you so much for having me! I'm so thrilled that your podcast exists, first of all, and secondly, I'm just so happy to be here to speak with you.
Nicole Zimmerer:Oh, thank you so much! We're happy you're here as well. So Stephen, you're here to talk to us about Jumping Jack Theater. Can you explain what that is and what you guys do and how you kind of got started?
Stephen Santa:Sure. Yeah. So Jumping Jack Theater is a children's theatre company. And we're based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And we create original sensory theatre productions for audiences with developmental disabilities and sensory sensitivities. Our theater serves children from ages six to twenty-one, essentially. Jumping Jack was created in 2016. And it was co founded with a dear friend of mine, her name is Rebecca Covert, and we were at one of our favorite coffee shops in Pittsburgh, it's called Big Dog. I don't know if you've ever been there? It's on the south side. It's so fun because you can bring your, your dog inside and they can chill with you while you're doing your work on your computer. So we were sitting at Big Dog and Rebecca is an artist, a teaching artist, a cabaret singer, an all around like incredible performer, arts advocate. She also happens to have an autistic son, and has done a lot of work in the autistic community, particularly in the theatre world, with helping companies that were broaching the idea of sensory-friendly performances and how they could adapt their performances to make them sensory-friendly, or have like a sensory-friendly event or something like that. And we were talking and she was kind of lamenting how she didn't really feel like there was a comfortable, safe space where she could expose her son to art, and to theatre in particular.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:And we kind of had this lightbulb-moment that"Well, if there isn't anything like that out there, why don't we create it?" And Jumping Jack was born from that conversation. Jumping Jack is named after Rebecca's son. It's kind of a funny story, again, at Big Dog a few weeks later, starting the process of coming up with our mission statement and coming up with a name. And you know, we said, "Well, we're doing this for Jack." And I said to Rebecca, "What does Jack love to do?" "Well, right now he's really into jumping on his trampoline." Again, another lightbulb-moment, Jumping Jack Theater. So...
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:We just fell in love with the name because it's playful, it's exciting, but it also keeps us grounded, too, remembering why we founded the company, and why we were trying to create unique experiences for kids like Jack. So I just love the name. And um, it's just every, every time I talk about it, I just love telling people that story because it's just it's just so unique and special to us.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, it also like invokes the idea of action. Because, I mean personally I don't jump a lot, obviously.
Stephen Santa:[Laughs]
Nicole Zimmerer:But you know, it. [Laughs.] It also like, it reminds me of the song "Jumping Jack Flash" and it just--
Stephen Santa:Yeah.
Nicole Zimmerer:--like, it's active. It's, it's a good, it's a good time. It's a good song. So.
Stephen Santa:For sure.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, yeah. Um, can you tell me like what, what is it like, what are the particulars? What do you guys do?
Stephen Santa:So we kind of have two primary focuses, we have an educational side, and we have a production side, but they kind of meet in the middle. So our focus is to create sensory-enriched experiences. And we kind of changed the language to "sensory theatre," as opposed to "sensory-friendly theatre," because that's different than what we're creating. Because we're creating something from the ground up that is made and crafted and cultivated directly for that population, as opposed to when you go to like a sensory-friendly event where they're taking material that's already been created and done, and they're just adapting that material. Like, you know, if you go to the Lion King on Broadway, they may have a sensory-friendly performance where they're just taking the show as it is and making it more sensory-friendly and less stimulating.
Nicole Zimmerer:Mm-hm.
Stephen Santa:But what we're doing is creating the experiences from the ground up. So it all starts in the classroom. We have classroom residencies in autistic support classrooms, learning support classrooms, life skills classrooms, where we can send in our teaching artists who also happened to be our performers in our shows. And they get to spend quality time in the classroom with the students. And we can almost workshop the ideas for the show the themes for the show. And then once we get a little deeper, we can workshop actual sensory moments that are going to be in the show. And having that direct feedback and direct response from our audience is the key to how we craft and create our shows. So then we are able to take that response and the feedback back to the creative team into the rehearsal room, to really, you know, hope to make our shows as accessible as possible, which we all know isn't possible to make something a hundred percent accessible to everyone. But you know, we're trying to make as many accommodations and creative choices to really make our shows as sensory-enriched and accessible, so everyone can find an avenue in to the story, and feel like it's being told just for them.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, yeah. Like you really are tailoring to your audience, which a lot of theatre doesn't do. They're just like, "We made this. We hope you like it, here you go." But you are really listening to your audience and trying to figure out how to include them in a space that often doesn't, or doesn't know how to include them properly with their needs. So it seems like a really fantastic idea. Stephen, I'm so excited to talk about the trailer. But first, let's talk about you. Who is Stephen Santa? Why are you doing this? What led you here? I want to the whole story, um, because I like, I'm nosy and I like to hear people's backgrounds and backstories and what makes them tick. So.
Stephen Santa:So I kind of class myself as a theatre director, artistic director, arts educator and arts advocate. You know, we all, when we're in the arts world, we wear a lot of hats.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:But my two passions in life are working with kids, particularly kids with disabilities, and theatre. I got the theatre bug very early on, around age eight. Started in the performance world first, primarily doing musical theatre as a child growing up in the community theatre world, moving into professional theatre as a child, had some really exciting, memorable opportunities, worked with amazing people. Studied musical theatre, and after coming out of school, I kind of transitioned into directing and felt like that was where I needed to be. And I've spent the last, oh going on 15 years, freelance directing all over the country, before founding Jumping Jack Theater in 2016 and becoming the artistic director. But on the other side of that, while I was pursuing all of these theatre things and, and working on shows, I was also working with kids with disabilities. For the last-- I just retired! It was 18 summers, I worked with this incredible camp for kids with disabilities called Camp AIM. It's through the Greater Pittsburgh YMCA. And I started there at the age of 15 as a counselor, and kind of worked my way up to becoming the music director where I had a classroom where the campers would come for music therapy, dramatic play... I facilitated a talent show every year where the kids got to rehearse their talents and put on a really tremendous show that was themed every year. And spent 18 years there every summer for six weeks, and I always say that those six weeks at Camp AIM were the best six weeks of my year. It was when I looked forward to every year, and I not only have developed lifelong relationships with counselors and staff but also with campers there, and their families, who I will, you know, be a part of their lives forever. So it was really an incredible experience for me. So when Jumping Jack kind of rolled around, it was almost like "Why wasn't I doing this sooner? Why wasn't I taking my two passions of working with kids with disabilities and theatre and merging them?" So when we broached the idea that, it was like all of the, all of the math was there, I just didn't figure out the equation in time.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:But I'm so thankful that I did. And here we are. And since 2016, we've put on three amazing performances, done so much community outreach, worked in many classrooms with so many unique, creative, fun students. And just so excited to see what the future will will bring for us.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, the word that comes to mind for me is like, kismet, or fate. You know, it's like, "Oh, obviously, this is what you were supposed to do." Yeah.
Stephen Santa:Absolutely. Hundred percent.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, no, I love those moments where it's just like, "Aha!" and you're like, "Maybe the universe is listening to me! Or maybe there's something out there that... maybe fate and destiny are real." And I'm just... you know, but I love those moments.
Stephen Santa:Yeah. And it probably came at the right time, too. Maybe I wasn't ready before then. So you know, timing is everything. I'm a firm believer in that, that everything happens at the right time when it's supposed to, and it's part of your path. And maybe that was that was the time, sitting at Big Dog for that kismit to happen.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, yeah. I mean, I will say, uh, Big Dog is getting great, great advertising in this episode. [Laughs]
Stephen Santa:They could be a sponsor.
Nicole Zimmerer:They should! They should! They should be like, "Thank you so much!"
Stephen Santa:Yeah.
Nicole Zimmerer:But yeah. Okay. So you mentioned you've done three shows. And I'm really interested in hearing like, what did you start with, and where are you now?
Stephen Santa:So our first show was called The Light Princess. And it was based off of a Scottish folklore fairytale that we adapted. The themes of The Light Princess just kind of made sense with the themes that we were trying to put across, and we felt that were were important; which are the themes of what makes you special, everyone has something that makes them special that needs to be celebrated. And The Light Princess has that. So if you don't know The Light-- the story of The Light Princess, I'll tell you very quick. There's a princess who's born without gravity. She literally floats, and figuratively floats above the world, and is very disconnected from the world because she's always in the air. And her parents, the king and the queen, tie ribbons to her to bring her back down to earth, again literally and figuratively, right. And through her journey, she and her parents discover that what makes her special, which is what makes her different, is that she has no gravity, is her superpower. And that is-- should be celebrated. And it's not, shouldn't be something that should be held down or tied down by these ribbons, and they're able to take those ribbons off and let her soar. And again, a beautiful metaphor for autism. It was a great avenue for parents to see themselves in the characters, also for our kids in the audience to see themselves in the characters in the show. And it just felt like the right starting-off point for us. So that show was co-produced with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. And it had one weekend of performances. And we performed it in downtown Pittsburgh, and we had the audience limit of 60 people. Which was a little bit big for what our vision was, but because we were co-producing it with the Cultural Trust, they had some expectations of audience size. So it was a give and take.
Nicole Zimmerer:Mm-hm.
Stephen Santa:It sold out, uh, in days, which was really exciting for us because then it kind of gave us the feeling that"Oh, there's a need for this. There's an audience out there that wants this sort of work. And they want to come to it."
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:Something we did discover, though, was that the shows did sell out, but then when it came to the actual shows, and the day of the show came, we would be at like 50% capacity or 60%, and there was a lot of empty seats. And that was a huge learning moment for us as a company. Something that we really hadn't really thought about at that point, since we were so new, was that there are a lot of roadblocks and challenges for our audience to even get to the theater.
Nicole Zimmerer:Mm-hm.
Stephen Santa:To be able to physically come to a show, whatever's going on that day, you know, there could be health things going on, there could be triggers that have been going on, the mood that they're in that day. So that was an eye-opening thing for us, which kind of led us to our second show which became a touring show that we could bring to--
Nicole Zimmerer:Oh, the trailer!
Stephen Santa:Not yet!
Nicole Zimmerer:Not yet?
Stephen Santa:But that is in the line!
Nicole Zimmerer:Okay!
Stephen Santa:But at all, but it all makes sense in the, in the history and in the timeline. So, our second show was called Cityscape, which we built to tour to schools, to community events, to organizations. And that was built for a smaller audience of about 25 audience members at a time. So again, we're going from 60 to 25, we're getting closer to what our mission was going to be. And Cityscape was an amazing show. It was two characters. One character was a young girl who was nonverbal. And the show was about her navigating the city. There was a pigeon puppet that came into her window, and she was playing with her favorite toys, and the pigeon comes in and snatches one of her favorite toys and takes it out the window and flies away. And the show was our main character, her name was MC, going out and having to navigate the city to find her favorite toy again. And since the show was being built to travel to schools, primarily, we wanted to incorporate a lot of life skills that the students may already be learning in their classroom. So that's why the city theme and the navigation themes made sense because we could work on how to read a map, we worked on how you pay for bus fare to take the bus, public transportation. Crossing the street on a sidewalk, safely on a crosswalk, what does that look like? And we built in all of these life skills into the show, so it could really mirror the things they were learning in their classrooms. Another thing that we added to that show was the idea of sound and sound effects and how those affect our audiences, particularly those with sensory sensitivities. Sound effects, particularly in a show that's about the city, and the city has so many loud things you could encounter; a construction site, an ambulance zooming by... How do we create those cityscapes and those soundscapes without triggering any of our audience members? So we came up with the idea of having the audience members actually record the sound effects that are going to be used in the show at the very beginning. So the actors would come out on stage, they would talk about the cityscapes that we were going to visit. For instance, we were going to visit a construction site, what could those sounds be that you would hear? You would hear the crane, you'd hear the bulldozer dumping the dirt. And then we would actually record those sound effects of the audience creating those sounds, and then have the ability to incorporate them into the play they're about to see. So it helped us in a few ways. It helped us by giving them a sense of ownership in the show, immersing them into the storytelling even further, but also eliminating the sense of surprise, because all the sounds that they're going to hear in the show they created. So they know they're coming. They're waiting for them. And it eliminates anything that could possibly be triggering, because they know exactly what's coming.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yes.
Stephen Santa:Yeah. And it worked so well for us that it will be something that we will always go back to and become kind of like a calling card for our larger shows, to have the audience create the sound effects because it was so successful.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, I think that's like a genius move, because it's also comforting to them when they are out in the real world, um, and they do come across the construction zone, or just the loud sounds of everyday life. And they're like, "Oh, but I know that sound because I made that sound." And it's like it's a double layer of comfort for them, I would think.
Stephen Santa:Exactly. And you know, we even had-- for that show, we not only took it to schools, but we also sat it down with the Cultural Trust for a weekend. And we had schools actually bring kids to the city to see the show. And they actually got to, immediately after they saw the show, go out and practice the themes and practice the elements they just saw in the show. So to me that was so amazing that they got to come to the show and learn how to use a crosswalk and then go out into the city and directly practice that, which was just-- feel so empowering and so amazing.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:Another way that we immersed our audiences, in both The Light Princess and Cityscape, is we made fidget keychains that every audience member received when they walked in. And on the keychains were storytelling elements that they used to again immerse them in the show and make them feel like they're really part of it. For instance, in The Light Princess there's a moment where the princess dives into a lake and explores the seaweed and the fish in the lake. And on the sensory keychain, fidget keychain, there was a piece of blue gel that they held up to their eyes, and they looked through it. So it felt like they were underwater. And they were seeing through The Light Princess' eyes what it would look like to be underwater. And that idea came directly from the classroom. We did a exercise in the classroom, we just put out a bunch of different pieces of paper, different textures, sandpaper, craft paper, tissue paper, things they could, they could look through, and a student picked it up, a piece of red cellophane and looked through it and said, "This looks hot, it looks hot!" And we said,"Wow, they just created a sensory moment for themselves." And we figured out that we could take that idea and put it directly into the show. So that's just a great example of a discovery that was made in the classroom with the students that became such an important immersive storytelling element in the show, and just shows how important taking the time for us to research and work directly with the kiddos, and how valuable their input and how amazing those little discoveries can be to really make our shows as immersive and accessible as possible.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, and I think it adds another layer to it. Because I know quite a few organizations that are geared towards the disabled community. They, you know, create content, for lack of a better term, for the disabled community, but they don't often involve the disabled community in that content creation. And I think the fact that you do is like, I mean, I think that's great. I mean, I, I also am very sad that the bar is on the floor, but I'm grateful that you are doing it.
Stephen Santa:I mean, that was always very important to us from the very beginning, you know, knowing that our co-founders and our staff-- we have a, we have another wonderful person on staff named Claire, who is just remarkable, but we are all neurotypical. And it was important that if we're creating this work, we have to be involving the people that it's for. That was, you know, to us that that's obviously a no-brainer?
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:And we have much more work to do in that realm as well. We want to get to the point where we could have, you know, people with disabilities creating the scores for our shows, being more involved in the script writing. Now, we have had some autistic adults working on our scripts with us and giving us feedback on our scripts, but we want to be able to immerse them more in our creative process, even get get them acting in our shows. We're just not at that point yet, but you know, that is definitely in our timeline.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:To get the community even actively involved as much as we can.
Nicole Zimmerer:Is, is Jack involved at all?
Stephen Santa:Jack has been a great audience member for us.
Nicole Zimmerer:Okay, good.
Stephen Santa:He gives really good feedback. And he's the kind of kid where, if he's not liking it, he's gonna get up and he's gonna be on to the next thing. So he has, he has really given us good feedback. He hasn't seen our newest show yet, but we're really excited for him to be able to see "Starshine!" which is our--
Nicole Zimmerer:Yes.
Stephen Santa:Our show that we currently have touring, which is the trailer show!
Nicole Zimmerer:The trailer show! Um, can we, can we talk about Starshine? Like, I heard about this show, and I was immediately like, "Wow, that's nothing I've ever, like, heard or seen before." So I would love to talk about that for a little bit. And I, and I understand that COVID, uh... [Sigh] I feel like we talk about the pandemic a lot on this show. But to be fair, like, it's, it's affected everything, um, including, well obviously the arts, but um--
Stephen Santa:Yeah.
Nicole Zimmerer:Can you talk about Starshine and like its journey from like where you guys started to what it is today?
Stephen Santa:Yeah. So after we toured Cityscape for about two years, we decided that we wanted to create something for a smaller audience. We had seen that we started with 60 audience members, we were down to 25. How can we make that an even more intimate experience? So we decided that we were going to revamp The Light Princess. And we were going to do it inside of an inflatable tent, and do it for four audience members and their caregivers or parents at a time. And we were weeks away from rehearsals starting. We actually received a grant through California University of Pennsylvania to work with their theatre students to create this show. We were weeks away, and that's when the pandemic hit. So... we obviously couldn't create that experience of The Light Princess 2.0, which we were calling it, and had to make a shift. And this shift started when we were on a road trip from Tennessee-- we took Cityscape to a theatre conference where we were able to perform it. And on the way home, we were talking about what's next for us. And we had said, we really want to do something for a small audience, maybe even something for one audience member at a time. What would that look like? How is that financially feasible? Is it financially feasible? And when COVID hit we took some time to evaluate, and we decided that we wanted to create something for one child at a time. So COVID really propelled us in that direction, because we thought,"Well, this is a way we can continue to serve our audience," because we can eliminate so many COVID issues, if we're only having one audience member at our show at a time. They don't have to worry about being around anyone else. We can sanitize and clean everything in between shows, and we can really make it as safe as possible. And then going back to The Light Princess, we had learned that it was a challenge to even get our audience to the theater. How can we eliminate those roadblocks as well, of having the audience come to us? Why don't we come to them? And that's when we decided that we were going to create a show for one audience member at a time inside of a mobile storytelling trailer, which we can literally roll up to the audience member's front door, right in their driveway, and they can come out, have this sensory-friendly, sensory-enriched, unique experience, and then go back into the comfort of their home. And I have to say that, this has been a revolutionary moment for us, and is propelling us into this new world of sensory-enriched theatre. So we bought this trailer, it's small, it's ten by five, and it hooks onto the back of an SUV or truck, and t, e door comes down. And there's a whole entire world created inside of this trailer. And the audience member comes in, has this 25, 30 minute sensory-enriched experience, and then goes back into their house.
Nicole Zimmerer:Wow. I mean-- Wow! So the show is called"Starshine!" What is the show about?
Stephen Santa:So Starshine is about becoming a "star keeper." There's one actor in the show as well, so it's one actor, one audience member and up to two caregivers. So there's four people in this trailer at one time. And they're coming under the idea that they are a recruit to the star keeper training program. And by the time they're done, they're going to become a star keeper. What is the star keeper? A star keeper is a person who takes care of the stars; they dust them, they keep them shining as bright as they can. And through their training, they learn that stars have shine in them. And shine is what makes us all special and unique. Every star is special and unique. Stars have shine in them, but we also have shine in us. So we're really pushing this theme that it's important to help other people and always help those who need it, and that everyone has something unique about them. And in the show, there's a star that's plucked out of the sky and it's losing its, its shine, it's losing its brightness. And we have to learn as a group that if we take a little bit of our shine, and give it to this star, it'll be able to shine bright again. So it's about empathy, it's about helping those who need it, it's about compassion, and it's about celebrating what makes us all unique and special.
Nicole Zimmerer:So what does the audience member do throughout the show to participate in the star keeping in the, in the show?
Stephen Santa:There's so much going on. And what's so wonderful about the show is that, because it's for one person, it's so flexible that they can do as little of it as they want or as much as they want based on their comfort level. For instance, the show starts on a trampoline, which is called our "launch pad." And we have to launch ourselves into the sky, into the stars, where we can do our work. So there's a very active moment at the beginning with us jumping on this trampoline. And then we transition into the trailer where we're sitting on the surface of a star. And that's where all of our actions happen. They get to dust a star with a very special duster and collect the star dust in a jar, which is actually just iron filings which we take a magnet and make the iron filings dance and move around in the jar. They create their own constellation using a black light. There is a moment where they get to see what a cloud smells like. Who knew that a cloud smells, right? But we had a little jar that we had collected a piece of a cloud and they get to smell it. There's a space garden where they get to plant "space fluff." And they actually get to taste it after they've planted it. So we're really having these immersive, super fun, cooperative experiences that are for all of your senses. They get to see, they get to taste, they get to touch, they get to hear. It's a, it's a multi-sensory, collaborative, super fun experience for not just our audience members, but our passengers, their family members as well.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, it's a highly individualized show, so how do you individualize each show? For every star keeper, or every recruit, as you would say?
Stephen Santa:Yes, they are recruits. At the very end, they become our star keeper! That's a great question. So, because it is for one audience member at a time, we have this ultimate flexibility. So a week before their scheduled performance, we send them a social story, we send them an activity guide. But they also get what's called our audience survey. It takes about five minutes, and it has questions for them to fill out about their comfortability level with all of our sensory elements, asking them if they have any pets, what are their pets names? What are their hobbies? What are their favorite TV shows, and then we're able to take all of their answers from their survey and incorporate it into the show. For instance, there's a moment where we have to name a star in the sky. And the actor knows all of these interesting things about the audience members, for instance their dog's name, so then we can name the star after their pet. And you see their face light up,"I have a dog with that same name!" So it's just that magical moment that just connects them, because we've made this connection that they didn't even realize.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:But also the survey gives us the ability to gauge their comfortability with all of our sensory moments. So we talk about smelling the cloud and eating the space fluff. And they can give us a range from one to five, how comfortable they are with those elements. So if someone says they're at a"one" for tasting anything in the show, then we have the ability as the actors to just skip that moment in the show, or adapt it to make it as comfortable and accessible as possible for that audience member. And this has been huge for us to be able to have that amount of flexibility in a show is really kind of unheard of. And for us to be able to know so much about that audience member and use that as a way to really earn their trust in a very short amount of time, has just been so invigorating and exciting to explore the idea of all of that.
Nicole Zimmerer:Stephen, when you're performing Starshine, and I say "you," are you a performer? That's a good question to ask, before we get into anything else. But I really want to know.
Stephen Santa:Yes, so I do perform the show. There's-- right now we have three actors that are rotating the show, it was very important to us with this show to make sure that our actors, since it is so immersive, and you're right there with the kid, that we were hiring actors that have experience working with kids with disabilities. So these actors that are in the show are highly experienced actors, teaching artists, that have worked with us since the very beginning. Because this isn't something you would just want to throw a actor into who has no experience working with this population.
Nicole Zimmerer:Mm-hm.
Stephen Santa:There's so much improv involved, because so many things can happen based on what's going on in the show, that you need someone who can navigate anything that's thrown to you or at you, literally or figuratively, by an audience member. So I'm so grateful for the actors that we have right now. And I'm looking to actually step away from the acting element, because there's so much planning involved with scheduling shows and booking shows and traveling. So I'm looking to more focus on just working on the booking of the shows and the scheduling.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:And having our two, our two really skilled performers take over the reins there. But yes, the show was built with myself and my colleague, Claire.
Nicole Zimmerer:So we've talked about these three shows that are interactive in different ways. Starshine is very task-based, because we have a recruit in training to be a star keeper. How does this differ from the other interactive elements? And how are these elements developed for the show?
Stephen Santa:That's a great question. So before, in our first two shows, there still was a disconnect from the audience and the actors, you know, a fourth wall, if you will, to a degree. Our audience members were interacting by creating the sounds, and they were using our fidget keychains throughout the show to enhance the sensory moments. And then we get to Starshine, where it's just, they're totally immersed, they are part of the story, they are the story, it's centered around them. And when we first started developing Starshine, it was very task-based. And as we started workshopping it and working through it, we kind of pulled back on that a little bit, because we didn't want to create any moment that would set up an audience member to fail. We didn't want that to be an experience that they could have, that they have this feeling of they weren't able to complete a task, or it didn't get completed the way-- the expectations of what we thought they were going to complete it. So there are still task elements in it. But everything has been highly researched and highly workshopped so that however it is completed by that particular recruit, can be successful. And we really wanted to focus more on creating sensory experiences as opposed to tasks. So they do these kinds of tasks at the beginning. And then it kind of transitions into more of them just interacting with the world and interacting with different sensory elements and sensory props that we give them and the tasks kind of go away. And then we returned to the tasks at the end where they help the star to shine bright again. So it's really taking everything we learned from the first two shows and just amping it up to a thousand.
Nicole Zimmerer:Right, right, turning it up to eleven.
Stephen Santa:To eleven, baby. Yeah.
Nicole Zimmerer:As they would say.
Stephen Santa:But not too loud! But not too loud.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:Because that would be too loud for a lot of our kiddos. [Laughs]
Nicole Zimmerer:Not too loud! Yeah, yeah. I just, I just think that's great. And that's totally different than any other children's theatre or theatre for neurodivergent audience members that I've seen before, because usually, it's fairly task-based, like even in the life skills classroom, it's really much like, "Do this, and then this, and then this..." And just to have, just for the audience members to have a space where they don't have to do tasks... For me, um, I would think it would be like, like a breath of fresh air or like a relief, because you know, some brains just don't work like that.
Stephen Santa:Yeah. And that's something that we learned pretty quickly. Because, again, it's just ingrained in us that like, that is how we do stuff, right? There's tasks, and that's how we tell a story, and that's how we get through that. And then we had to really make a mind shift away from that and, and make the decision that it's going to be less about that and more just about having an experience.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:And, and living in this world. And just really running with that idea. And it, but it definitely was a mind shift for us.
Nicole Zimmerer:So Stephen, what has been the response from parents? Because while I'm not a parent myself, I do know a lot of parents of disabled children. And I would think it would be very moving for them to see a piece of art or something specifically tailored for their children, given the fact that we don't often see that in society these days.
Stephen Santa:Absolutely.
Nicole Zimmerer:What have been some of the responses that you've gotten from this experience?
Stephen Santa:I mean, part of why we also created Jumping Jack was not just for the kids, but for the parents as well. Because, again, it goes back to Rebecca and her saying, "I don't feel comfortable taking Jack anywhere. We've gone to the movies, we've gone to the theatre, and it hasn't gone well," you know, "People are staring at us, people are making comments," you know, "Why is he making those noises?" You know. So it has been empowering for these parents and eye opening for them to have a safe space for themselves, for their child where there's going to be zero judgment. They can experience the show any way they want, as long as they're being safe, as long as they're comfortable. There's no right or wrong, it is their show, it's for them. And whatever happens happens and it's a unique experience for them. So the parents have been really blown away by that. And, you know, there has been shows where audience members have not been able to go into the trailer. Sometimes they're just not comfortable going inside. They look at it and it's just a little too intimidating. But we have a plan for that. So we're able to bring all of the sensory experiences outside of the trailer, and we just sit right outside on the ramp, and do the show. And again, no right or wrong, that is that show for that child; it's not a fail, it's not a win, it is their show. And it really puts things into perspective, because we'll have parents say things like,"You asked our child to do this, and they verbally responded to you. That's something we've been working on in therapy for a year. And the fact that it just happened so naturally, with a complete stranger, is such a huge step for us as a parent, in the growth of our child." And I think most parents would take that for granted, right, of a neurotypical child, of that small of an interaction happening. But to that parent, seeing it happen in this moment, in a creative environment, is a huge step for that child, and that child's development. So the fact that we're able to provide that has just been really grounding for us as well.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, it's, it's a big, it's a big moment for those kids. And, like, how do you feel, knowing that you are involved in like a person's big moment? How does that put things in perspective for you?
Stephen Santa:It's unbelievable, because-- and we were actually talking about this last night, because we had a show, and it was like, 45 minutes away, and you know, we're all artists and we have other jobs. And, you know, we're coming home from our, from our day job, and then rushing out with this trailer and driving 45 minutes and setting up this show and rushing, rushing, rushing. And then, you know, the kids just walk out and we see their faces, and we have this beautiful experience with them. And it just puts everything into perspective for us. That, regardless of all the rush and all of the planning and everything that we put into this, it's-- it's for them. And when we get to just do the show and have that experience--
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah!
Stephen Santa:--it's so magical. It's so empowering for everyone involved. And it's just a magical theatre moment that we have, and I don't want to get like all artsy-fartsy and sentimental but uh, it's just so special. It really is. It's, it's hard to describe. But it's just such a special moment when we make those connections.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah. So, you just had a show last night, so you're still doing Starshine. I was gonna ask if COVID has affected anything, but COVID literally led to the birth of this idea. So I'm guessing you've worked out all the kinks, obviously. But you're still doing the show?
Stephen Santa:Yeah, we are. What's nice about it is that the trailer's never closed. So there's always fresh air coming in. We're able to sanitize everything in between shows. And the show was built with COVID in mind, like there's no carpeting or anything that can't be cleaned. Like our seats are plastic cubes that light up, and vinyl rocker chairs. So everything has been crafted and custom made by the students at Cal U, with knowing that everything has to be able to be cleaned very quickly, because we do multiple shows in a day. So that has all been part of the creative process of the show, is how do we create something that's COVID safe. And just like, in general, that's something that we should be doing all of the time when we're working with, with children, and they're touching things, regardless of a pandemic, we should be trying to keep everyone healthy all of the time and just keep everyone safe. And that's part of that, you know.
Nicole Zimmerer:Right. Right. Cool. So what does a busy day for you look like with Starshine?
Stephen Santa:Well, we have been lucky to be able to partner with some local organizations; the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Science Center, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, where we can do six shows in one day. That's kind of our cap, that we feel, for the actors. That, that is a busy day. So a busy day for us can look like that, six shows. And then it can also look like one show a night, pulling up to a family's house and doing one show and maybe having two or three of those during a week. Every week and every day and every show is, is different for us.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, you mentioned that you have you know, day jobs and that your actors have day jobs. And you know, I'm guessing you would like, further down the road, for it to become a full time gig. But my question is, because it's so individualized for one person at a time, how do you afford it? How do you keep it running?
Stephen Santa:That is definitely a challenge. I would say, with Starshine we probably will lose money every show we do. [Laughs.]
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:But we're not clearly doing it to make a profit, but it was very important to us that cost also not be a roadblock for our audience members and our families. So we do offer the show free of charge to our families. Now, when we do it with organizations, sometimes there is a fee involved, or the organization will pay us a fee to come in, and then they'll, they won't charge the audiences. But when we're doing our one-on-one shows and houses, it is free to those families, and Jumping Jack survives on donations and grants. Because we are doing one show at a time. And you know, like most traditional theatre, you're going to be making all of your money off of ads, and you're gonna be making all of your money off of selling tickets. And you can't make money off of a show for one person, particularly a show that you're traveling miles and miles away. So, again, we survive on donations and lots of grants. That is how Jumping Jack functions.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah.
Stephen Santa:And we're very, very thankful and lucky, we've had so many people support us. And we just had a fundraising campaign that raised $5,000, and all of that money is going directly to sponsoring free performances for families.
Nicole Zimmerer:Wow. So how do you, how do you find your audience members? Is it advertising, word of mouth? I'm guessing a combination of the two, or you know...
Stephen Santa:Yeah, it's it's a little bit of all of that. We have been lucky that we've been able to develop some relationships with schools by working in the classroom. So we're able to reach out to those educators, and they can share the word. But also word of mouth is been really great for us, once a family sees it and understands it and has the experience, they can articulate that to their friends and their families and other members of the community. And we've also been lucky, we had a wonderful news spotlight segment on the show, that really helped us get the word out, like we were on the news, and they did like a really nice two minute piece about us. And after that, we booked like 20 shows in three days. So...
Nicole Zimmerer:Wow!
Stephen Santa:You know, we are still a small company. So we don't have a huge marketing budget. So a lot of our shows just come organically from word of mouth. And we're very lucky too, that once we meet a family and we work with them, we develop a relationship with them. And they, if they have a good experience, which we hope all of our families do, we can continue to be a part of their lives and their child's growth for many years to come. So we have a lot of repeat customers, which has been really great.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's a golden nugget of an idea. So I just think you guys are gonna have so much success. I mean, obviously, you already are, but I think it's just gonna grow bigger and bigger over time. Stephen, what's your hope for Jumping Jack Theater in the future? Are you guys working on developing a new show? Or do you see Starshine going the distance for a few more years or months?
Stephen Santa:I think we have a lot of hopes and dreams. One of them would be to--whether it's Starshine, or it's a different show, in the trailer--be able to tour this to a wider audience--
Nicole Zimmerer:Mm-hm.
Stephen Santa:--to you know, work with an agent who can book us at theatre festivals around the country, can book us at different schools and different organizations, and really kind of take it to the next level where we can have ultimate outreach, would definitely be a goal. And also, since we have this trailer, is to be able to reinvent what's inside. We can do Starshine for a year, we can do Starshine for two years, and then start again. And we have this clean slate inside this trailer and learn from our time with the show we have now and build something new and even more exciting, that can still provide the same ideas of being able to take something and travel it right to an audience member's house because that has really been the revolutionary thing that we've learned is, is being able to do that and how empowering that is to our audiences. That is the kind of big, big learn for us, was being able to bring it right to their front door and how special and unique that is to everyone involved. And to continue our education, we love working in classrooms. And like I said earlier, finding ways to get disabled performers, actors, writers involved more in our process as we grow, is certainly a goal for us. Because like we all agree on that is important when we're telling stories that are for that audience that they're involved in the creation of it.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah, that all sounds pretty fantastic. For our listeners, if they want to get involved, where can they go? How do they you know, become a part of your community?
Stephen Santa:You can find us at www.JumpingJackTheater.org. And, again, I said it's hard to even explain what this show is, and how it's crafted. But we have a really fantastic promo video, that's about a minute long on our website that goes through the whole entire experience. So if you're curious as to what "Starshine!" visually looks like, I encourage you to check out that promo video because it gives a really good indication of what the world is that we've created. We're also on Instagram and Facebook"Jumping Jack Theater."
Nicole Zimmerer:Amazing, amazing. Um, yeah! Stephen, do you have anything else to plug?[Laughs.] Just had double check.
Stephen Santa:Just that, like, I mean, we're always we're always taking donations. So you can-- if people feel inclined, you can head to our website, and you can donate right through our website.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yes, yes. That was my next question. Because I really, I really do think this is like a golden idea. And the fact that you are actually doing-- you're catering to this audience who is often overlooked is very heartwarming for me. But I'm a softie at heart. So.
Stephen Santa:[Laughs.] That means a lot coming from you, Nicole. So thank you so much for saying that.
Nicole Zimmerer:Yeah. Thank you for doing you and making art that impacts everyone.
Stephen Santa:Absolutely. I'm just happy to be able to spread the word and let people know that this type of work is out there and exists. And, you know, we're gonna continue to serve this audience that deserve something created specially for them.
Nicole Zimmerer:Thank you so much for coming and speaking to us, and I'm really glad you came on today. Just kidding! The episode isn't over yet. Since the initial recording of this episode, Jumping Jack Theater has had some exciting news, they have a new artistic director. Everybody, please welcome Claire Carbone! Claire, hello! And welcome to the pod!
Claire Carbone:Hi, thanks for having me!
Nicole Zimmerer:Claire is a Pittsburgh based actor and teaching artist. And, in addition to creating sensory theatre for people with developmental disabilities, she also teaches acting at the University of Pittsburgh. Claire, why don't you tell the people who you are and what you're doing and you know, what your deal is? So who are you?
Claire Carbone:Oh, what a big question. [Laughs.] Thanks. I appreciate that Nicole, thanks for having me. Um, okay, so I have been involved in Jumping Jack for a while now, I want to say four years it's been... I'd have to fact-check myself but you get the point.
Nicole Zimmerer:Mm-hm.
Claire Carbone:Um, I'm from Rochester, New York. I went to the University of Pittsburgh to study theatre and also went to business school. I also went to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York, and then found my way back to Pittsburgh after various apprenticeships and different opportunities in acting and teaching and beyond. So I just really missed Pittsburgh, moved back, and it was actually for The Light Princess, which was our first show at Jumping Jack Theater. So I acted as sort of a marketing-side person, helped with our first fundraiser, and then also acted as the Light Princess in The Light Princess and then had just stayed with the company ever since. I got involved in sensory theater, sensory-friendly theater--however you want to say, we now have shifted to saying just "sensory theater," but I know that's not as common--so just the world of arts accessibility and sensory theater, through theater for young audiences in general. So when I was a student at Pitt, I found myself getting cast in a young audiences production at the university and I just got lucky enough to attend a conference called TYA USA, where lots of organizations from around the world all gather and collaborate and chat and exchange information about their young audiences work and there happened to be a company there that was dipping their toes in the waters of sensory-friendly theatre called Trusty Sidekick in New York, they're an awesome company, shout out to them. And it just spiraled from there really. There's a company called the Oily Cart in the UK that I admired and it just, like I said, spiraled, snowballed, my interest in just doing work that mattered and providing you know, arts experiences for folks who unfortunately don't have the experiences often enough. So, just combining my skills as an actor and a teaching artist, I was like, "Uh, hey, this is amazing! I want to do this." And I was lucky enough to find colleagues that I knew in Pittsburgh that wanted to do it too.
Nicole Zimmerer:That's fantastic. Claire, the question on everybody's mind is, how did you-- how did this happen? How did you become the new artistic director of Jumping Jack Theater?
Claire Carbone:Oh, sure! Yeah, I keep asking myself that also.[Laughs]
Nicole Zimmerer:[Laughs]
Claire Carbone:So I was Artistic Associate and marketing, community relations, actor, teaching artist, other things. You know, you wear many hats when it comes to the arts. And so Steve and I were a small but mighty team, and he actually, recently--very recently, as you know--got a job, an a`mazing job at the Omaha Community Playhouse in Nebraska. And so that left us with a bittersweet moment to make a shift in the company. And Steve and I are still in very close contact, almost every day, talking about how we can still collaborate and how Jumping Jack can be involved with his new work, and we're good friends. So I was definitely sad. And so is he, but he's perfect for this new role. So we're super excited for him.
Nicole Zimmerer:Fantastic. Fantastic. What excites you about the future of Jumping Jack Theater?
Claire Carbone:Yeah, so much. I was so excited to hear that Steve already laid out so much of the momentum that we had. Obviously, we don't want to say anything was positive about the pandemic, because it was such a dark time and is dark times. However, the pivot that we were forced to make with Starshine opened up a lot of doors for, just sort of the trajectory of the company, and that one-to-one actor/audience member ratio, and this mobile storytelling trailer, and so on, and so on. So, not at all putting Starshine to rest, even though it is winter, and it's too cold for the trailer. We are doing a tent version of the show that does accommodate more folks at a time than just one. And so, at a surface, I'm super excited to see how many more families Starshine can serve in Pittsburgh and beyond. But we do have some new, exciting ideas or inspirations in the works, that I can sort of tease. And when I say "tease," that's not to be discreet, it's just because this all just happened! [Laughs] It all happened so fast. And we're again, so happy for Steve. And when I say we I'm talking about myself and my colleague, Sarah Carleton, who has been an actor and teaching artist with us for a while now, a few years as well. And I was really happy to be able to bring her on in a more formal way. So she basically stepped into my role as I stepped into Steve's. So as I was saying, Sarah and I have a few goals at the start. So I care deeply about including the autistic community and the disabled community in our work from the ground up. Obviously, we have the classroom model, which does let us live out our"nothing about us without us" mission that allows us to include our audience right from the start, so we can make sure and check in with them every step of the way, like, "Hey, is this resonating?" You know,"Hey..."
Nicole Zimmerer:Right.
Claire Carbone:Like, "What do we think about this theme? What do we think about this?" With our amazing students in the classroom, we're able to check-in and make sure that the content is accessible with our kids and our families every step of the way. And at the same time, because of the growth we've had, and unfortunately, because the classroom residencies have taken a pause with the pandemic, and third parties not being able to be in schools right now, to a certain extent, I've been thinking a lot about the connections we've made. And Steve and I always used to say that Jumping Jack was a really "slow burn." And what we meant by that, slow and steady, is that we would always crack doors open, we would always meet people and they'd be intrigued by our work, and it would just take a while for those connections to actually come to fruition. And what's really beautiful now is because we really took our time, and were really thoughtful with the work and the connections, we have this amazing network of professionals and families that we've served. And so I really want to, for next steps, reach back out to those families and say, "Hey, we're still here!" You know, people that we worked with in the classroom and that haven't seen Starshine yet, and folks that have had the trailer come to their home and beyond. I want to really include them on a more personal level, and I think that could look something like advisory board, or some sort of group or panel of folks that we turn to for suggestions and directly ask, "Hey, what do you want? What do you need from us? What do you want to see? What is your family need? What is your.... you know, what is ideal, in part-- in your family partnering with Jumping Jack Theater?" And so I think that is something that's really exciting. And hopefully we can get the ball rolling on pretty soon.
Nicole Zimmerer:That sounds absolutely fantastic. It really helps, you know-- because the kids and the families you visit and you serve, um... Everybody deserves the magic and the beauty of theatre, not to get all like middle school theatre teacher, dressing like you know--
Claire Carbone:[Laughs]
Nicole Zimmerer:--the theatre teacher from like, High School Musical.
Claire Carbone:Oh, yeah, Miss Darbus.
Nicole Zimmerer:Miss Darbus! Exactly! Exactly!
Claire Carbone:[Laughs]
Nicole Zimmerer:Like I really do-- I don't think theatre is ever gonna die. 'Cause, you know, you always read those articles about like, you know,"Theatre's dying, because nobody's going to the theatre!" And I think, I don't think theatre as an art form is dying, because it's something that makes us human! And I think that every person, whether they're on the spectrum or not, should be able to enjoy theatre in a way that, you know, makes them comfortable and happy. And it allows them to have like human moments with other humans. Does that make sense?
Claire Carbone:It makes so much sense. Yeah.
Nicole Zimmerer:I think it's such a good idea. And, like I can't wait to see what you guys do. I'm very excited for this. Like, I'm still in awe that it's, it's a real thing. When you do this work, when you advocate for disability in theatre, you have moments of like, "Well, nobody's listening to me. Nobody's like picking up what I'm putting down." And then you hear about projects like this. And you're like-- well, personally, it makes me feel better. It makes me feel less alone doing what I'm doing. So... Where can the, where can the people find you? On the interwebs?
Claire Carbone:Oh!
Nicole Zimmerer:Oh wait, before we do that, is there anything you want to plug?
Claire Carbone:I just want to open the doors to anyone and everyone who wants to connect with us in any way to send us a message on our website JumpingJackTheater.org. I don't want there to be any obstacles in the way of that. And so I'll be the one getting the message. So if you're listening to this, and you're wanting to collaborate or connect us to anyone you know, please do!
Nicole Zimmerer:Cool. Cool. And how can the people of the pod find you on the, on the internet?
Claire Carbone:Yeah, so it would be JumpingJackTheater.org. And then we're on Instagram and Facebook @JumpingJackTheater.
Nicole Zimmerer:They can just like send you a quick message or something.
Claire Carbone:Yeah, through our contact tab or through a direct message on Instagram.
Nicole Zimmerer:Well, Claire, this was great. Thanks for coming on! I'm glad we got to like tack on this, this mini interview to the episode.
Claire Carbone:[Laughs] Amazing. Thank you so much! This is awesome.
Nicole Zimmerer:Thank you! Thank you for listening to this episode of Break A Leg! And thank you to both our guests, Stephen and Claire, for joining us today. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @breakalegpod, that's break a leg, P-O-D. Let us know what you thought about the episode or tell us who you think we should have on next. For a full transcript of each episode, use the link in the episode description. To get notified about each new episode, make sure to hit "Follow" or"Subscribe" wherever you get your podcasts. The easiest way to support this show is by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts. Break A Leg! is produced by Scott MacDonald, and our cover art was created by Sasha and Alexander Schwartz. I'm Nicole Zimmerer and I will see you next time.