Making the theater experience more inclusive and accessible

Dashiell Pinck

March 27, 2023 / 6:27 pm

caption: Two pictures of Sylvie Crow smiling.

We all deserve a space where we can be unapologetically ourselves. Sylvie Crowe, a director, costume designer, and actor at Bellevue Youth Theater, is part of a new generation of creatives who are fighting to create that space for disabled and LGBTQ+ people.

RadioActive's Dashiell Pinck talked with Sylvie, and has more.

[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW's radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This story was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]

ver since they first entered the world of theater at Bellevue Youth Theater (BYT) at age 4, Sylvie has been enamored with the stage, discovering the joy of self-expression and the importance of representation.

Through both her college education and personal connections, Sylvie began learning the ways of communicating with deaf people, including their best friend’s brother, Morgan.

"And so because he's a part of the family, we wanted to include him, and that required learning tactile signs so that we could tell him, 'Hey, Morgan, I'm here,'" Sylvie said.

After completing their time at Western Washington University, Sylvie decided to return to BYT, this time in a leadership role as the director for the 2015 production of "Rapunzel."

One of the ways we're working on making our program accessible is relaxing on the urgency that sometimes comes with theater. That sense of, 'We have to get this done now. We have to know all of these things now.' Sylvie Crowe

"I had my hands in all of the creative pieces, and it got to be exactly what I wanted it to be," Sylvie said.

As Sylvie gains more experience directing, she has also been learning the importance of helping others be more comfortable sharing their identities.

"I think leading by example is really important for me, which is why I started sharing my pronouns at work," said Sylvie, who identifies with both she/her and they/them pronouns. "If I'm going to ask young people, if they are comfortable sharing their pronouns, I want to make sure that I'm also comfortable sharing my pronouns."

In addition to helping young actors feel safe and supported, Sylvie has been helping to make BYT more accessible through their work as a leader for BYT's Theater of Possibility program. There, Sylvie leads a class designed for disabled and neurodivergent actors. They said the goal is to build community in a place that is specifically for disabled actors to learn theater skills, and also life skills.

"One of the ways that we're really working on making our program accessible is relaxing on the urgency that sometimes comes with theater," Sylvie said. "There's that sense of, 'We have to get this done now. We have to know all of these things now. And we have to do all of this exactly right, right now.' And because we're community theater — because we're not putting the pressures of professional theater on ourselves — we are able to step on the brakes, and let things happen at a different pace than with the urgency that prevents a lot of theater from being accessible to people."

Today, Sylvie continues to advocate for representation in media and community theater.

This story was produced in a RadioActive Youth Media one-week Intro to Radio Storytelling workshop for high school-age youth. Production assistance by Dayana Capulong and Leila M'baye. Prepared for the web by Leila M'baye.

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