Taking A Detour

"Taking a Detour: Adapting Theatre to Celebrate the Ability of All" documents through story, example and pedagogy Detour Company Theatre's process for adapting traditional theatre through games, rehearsals and performance opportunities for the non-typical actor. Taking you through exercises, casting, auditions and blocking from script to the stage, this book offers tried and true tools for those interested in developing authentic theater experiences for actors with cognitive and/or physical disabilities.

Since 2001 Detour Company Theatre has been committed to making a journey in the arts possible for its actors - those who are deaf, blind, autistic, those with genetic conditions and more. Its mission is "to provide theater training and performance experiences that give its actors opportunities to develop artistry, demonstrate courage and collaboration, to experience joy and to participate in the sharing of the magic of musical theater with the entire community."

Detour produces two to three mainstage Broadway musicals each year, with four performances each in the eight hundred seat theatre at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Each production is capped at 50 actors who are supported by coaches, a live band and professional sets and costumes.

Sam received her undergraduate degree in Education and her MFA in Theatre for Youth from ASU. She has served as the coordinator of the Theatre Arts program at Phoenix Day School for the Deaf and as a certified ASL interpreter. She was on the Arizona Commission on the Arts roster for more than ten years doing workshops on disability awareness and sign language interpretation. In 2018 Sam was the recipient of the Governor's Arts Award for an individual, honoring the significant impact she has had on the state's arts community. She has been recognized by Arizona's PBS station, winning their "Be More Award," and received a Zoni for service to the arts for her sign language interpreting, "Teacher of the Year" from Phoenix Day School for the Deaf.

"Taking a Detour," with its unique and useful insight into theatre production and possibilities, will help and inspire anyone working with the "nontraditional" actor - not only in drama training, but also in classroom and special programming activities.