From a casting perspective

"I personally find the social model very empowering and I fully believe that we are disabled by society rather than our impairments. However, I think we should also be able to discuss our impairments if we want to, because like it or not, a medical diagnosis is part of our lived experience.

From a casting perspective, it’s about finding a balance between not asking personal questions and knowing what specifics are required for a role. For example, if I am casting an amputee, I don’t want to know that someone needs step-free access. I also want to know that they’re an amputee, but it’s also important that I take the impairment or lack thereof that has been written and boil it down do what is really required. This person “comes downstairs” Do they really need to come downstairs or is the point that they have come from another room? I also like to refer to “disability communities” when I’m looking to cast representatively. It doesn’t seem appropriate to ask for access requirements at the callout stage as those vary between people with the same impairment. If the character is blind I am looking for an actor from the visually impaired community. Obviously what constitutes a community is up for discussion and things change all the time as certain pools of actors or actors who disclose grow and develop."

Amy Evans 

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