Conversations with Simon Ridley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Simon Ridley

Hi Simon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Detour began almost 25 years ago as a space for adults with disabilities to come together and make theatre. It started with just a few individuals–with and without disabilities–working together to put on a production of The Wizard of Oz. Since then, it has grown into a thriving community theatre producing musicals, original work, and even Shakespeare in a way that is accessible to the performers on stage and to our audience members. We have traveled across Arizona performing to audiences large and small. And at the heart of everything we do is: Passion.

Our troupe of actors and support people share a passion for theatre. Detour audiences–composed of both disabled and non-disabled people–see themselves in the performances happening on stage. Our shows are not a lecture or a challenge. They are an invitation to see ourselves as part of a diverse community. And everyone who comes and sees a Detour show leaves it with a greater passion for the arts than when they arrived.

As we near our 25th year of producing multiple shows a season, we are looking even further to the future. The demand for engaging theatre is greater than ever before and we are delighted to meet it.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Like many arts organizations and organizations the work within the community of people with disabilities, we are facing more challenges now than perhaps ever before. There is a push back against organizations like ours–organizations that work with marginalized communities–because of the perception that we are taking opportunities away from neurotypical and non-disabled people.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The unifying message of every Detour performance is this: We are all in community together.

Adults with disabilities have so much to offer to our society. What Detour demonstrates is that we can all work together to achieve meaningful goals. The shows that we produce at Detour are made better by including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), people from the Deaf community, blind and low vision performers, and people with other disabilities. And it is our hope that the example set by Detour can be a beacon to every part of our world. Building inclusive spaces is a positive for all of us. Including adults with disabilities in our social groups, workforce, and in our political leadership improves things for everyone. There is no need to compete–we can work together. In fact, we must.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What sets me and my creative partner, Andrea Head, apart from other theater producers is our focus accessibility as an asset to the creative process rather than a liability.

Most plays and musicals are not written with adults with disabilities in mind. As directors, Andrea and I work together to find the ways that including actors with disabilities necessarily changes the story that we are presenting. And then instead of hiding those areas, we highlight them. They become a feature of our unique production. The result is a production of a well-known play or musical that is unique and unlike any previous production.

One of my favorite examples of this is when we cast a Deaf actor, Hailey Simon, as Olive in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee–a musical comedy about a spelling bee. Olive’s parents are in the script as people who are distant from Olive, but it is ambiguous exactly why they are so distant. In our production, it was clear. Olive’s parents were distant because they were both hearing and she was Deaf. Olive’s father was unwilling to work to bridge the communication barrier between him and his daughter. Olive’s mother was burnt out and frustrated being the only person advocating for Olive. At the climax of this relationship, during the heartfelt “I Love You Song”, we see Olive reclaim her identity and her language through a beautiful rendition of the song in American Sign Language. This set our production of Spelling Bee apart from Broadway, from local community theaters, and from any other production. It was the same script that has been around for 20 years, but in many ways it was also a world premiere.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
One thing we as a society learned during the COVID-19 crisis was that isolation is terrible and that arts are a necessary feature of community building.

The isolation we all experienced during COVID was devastating. We are all still feeling those effects today. But that level of isolation was not uncommon within the disability community even before COVID and it continues today as well.

We must prioritize community. At Detour, we have embraced the label of a “community theatre.” We reject the idea that this reflects a lower quality of theatre. In fact, we assert that working as a community and producing work that you are passionate about is the highest art form. No one wants to return to the levels of isolation we felt during COVID. And we all must work together to ensure that community is available and accessible for everyone.

Pricing:

• It is free to be part of Detour
• Detour productions are Pay-What-You-Can. You can see our shows for $0 if that is what makes sense for you.
• Suggested donation for tickets is $15

Contact Info:

• Website: https://detourcompanytheatre.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/detourcompanytheatre/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/detourcompanytheatre
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@detourcompanytheatre

Image Credits
Jessica Madsen, Christine Keith