NOMINATED FOR 6 OVATION AWARDS

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME

By SIMON STEPHANS

ADAPTED FROM THE NOVEL BY MARK HADDON 

produced by Greenway Court Theatre in West Hollywood, CA

The senses

 A benefit of doing “Curious Incident” in a smaller theatre was really being able to activate all of the audiences senses. Many members of the autism community, like Christopher, have sensory sensativities including touch. Since Christopher felt more connected to animals than humans, we used soft yarn for all the creatures. The murdered dog, Wellington (above), was made out of tangled yarn that went limp in Christopher’s arms. Yarn animals helped him decide who to trust, like his neighbor Mrs. Alexander, and yarn also guided him thru the tumult of trainstations. During the second act, the ensemble knitted fragments of when came together to form a dog. A present from his father which began to heal the wounds in the relationship.

OVATION AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST PRODUCTION

BEST DIRECTOR

BEST ENSEMBLE

BEST LIGHTING

BEST SOUND

LEAD ACTOR

the spectrum

In auditions, the nuance and surprising choices that autistic actors brought were undeniable. I cast Iain Kohn, a college freshman with Asbergers who is a spoken-word poet but had never done a play before. Iain had charm, a great deal of stage presence, and a natural connection to Christopher. Creating the production mirrored the meta-reality of the script where Christopher and his teacher Siobhan had decided to make a play out of his story. All the actors supported Iain in every way possible, and he brought an autheticity that was captivating and powerful.