Look Mum...No Hands!!! (The Legless Bar Years)

In 2015, we set out to enhance the landscape of the Queensland theatre community, by forming a new inclusive company with a focus on creating diverse and unique theatre that leaves a mark. We have had great success, supported by Brisbane City Council's Community Development and Capacity Building Grant and Brisbane Powerhouse we presented our first development of 'Look Mum…No Hands!!!’. In 2016, we staged our premiere production of this show at Redland Performing Arts Centre and Brisbane Powerhouse, with further support from the Endeavour Foundation to fund Auslan interpreting and captioning. We also implemented our workshop series offering skills development and training in the performing arts for young people with disabilities. These workshops are specifically tailored to our participants' needs and incorporate actor training and applied theatre techniques to develop participants' skills, knowledge, and confidence in theatre-making. Through both our performances and workshops we have observed and recorded positive benefits for participants, their families, and social networks which include overcoming barriers to participation in the arts for people with disabilities. We are proud to announce that we have secured funding for 2017 from the Queensland Mental Health Commission to support the development of ‘I Love Me Just The Way I Am’.

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Company Website

indelabilityarts.com

Unique Selling Point

Indelabilityarts is an inclusive theatre company and our original work is created by a professional ensemble of artists who identify as having a disability. ‘Look Mum No Hands’ is fun and interactive with plenty of audience participation across a range of performance modes. It communicates the lived experience of our artists while challenging preconceptions. Through their original songs and stories, our ensemble will both touch and surprise you with their raw and vulnerable performances. As a company, we promote inclusive practice in order to reach diverse audiences by making work that both reflects their experience and caters to their needs.

Marketing Materials

This performance premiered to a sold-out audience at Redland Performing Arts Centre, followed immediately by a successful season at Brisbane Powerhouse, in September 2016. This show is tour ready and we have marketing copy (including images, templates for programs and print material such as posters and flyers, and draft press releases and social media strategies) developed and ready to go. Our team will liaise with presenters in order to contact local media outlets and community groups to help promote the show and to engage diverse audiences.

Community Engagement

As an inclusive theatre company, indelabiltyarts seeks not only to provide professional artistic work to artists but also training opportunities for community members who identify as having a disability and have an interest in the performing arts. Through the combined approach of performance and workshops we seek to have a lasting cultural impact on local venues, audiences, and the broader community by promoting accessibility and inclusivity. Beyond challenging perceptions and modelling what is possible within our performance, we also offer workshops in order to directly engage and empower diverse audiences. These workshops will focus on imparting skills in devising performance (based on the company’s creative process) to members of the local community who identify as having a disability in order to foster their own creative endeavours. Workshops can take the format of 1-2 hours or a small residency that can last up to a week and will be tailored to the needs and abilities of the participants. By touring this show widely, we aim to actively engage audiences who may often feel marginalised, discriminated against, or excluded from arts practice and to widely promote inclusive theatre practices by educating audiences and providing training opportunities to local community members.