Media & Disability

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  • Who Created this Guide?
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  • Adjustments and Aids for People Specific Disabilities
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Guide on media & disability

Casting Actors

Ways of Increasing Opportunities for Disabled Actors:

• Look at your criteria for developing series and include disability.
• Include disability criteria in selecting writers for writing development schemes.
• Encourage writers to include disability in a drama or soap, especially parts for disabled actors.
• Create a character with a disability in a soap, or allow an existing character to acquire a disability, then play the story for realism. Include all types of disability. Did you know that fewer than 8% of disabled people are permanent wheelchair users?
• Consider casting at all levels — principals, walk-ons and extras. Why not choose somebody of short stature to play the lead in a new situation comedy? Would not the streets of a period drama have been populated with blind beggars, amputees from a recent war etc? Disabled people have always been around!
• Set up, or lobby for, a disabled performers database in your company.
• Actively look out for disabled actors and then try to develop a part for them. Try to find a disabled actor to play a disabled character, but also consider disabled actors for all parts, whether written as disabled or not.
• Encourage agents to represent disabled as well as non-disabled artists and extras.
• Tell agents that you are keen to include disabled talent in your programmes.
• Make sure your audition and rehearsal spaces and studios are accessible. Include in any advertisement for a casting session such wording as: ‘if you have access requirements, please contact us first’. In most cases special arrangements will not be necessary or can be easily provided. If in doubt, ask the actor!

Where to find disabled actors

It may not be easy initially to find disabled actors. You may choose to set up your own databases of actors and other talent in order to make it easier for production staff to find suitable people for their programmes. Contact local theatre groups and disabled organisations.

For a list of international actors unions and organisations see www.theactingwebsite.com

Casting Sessions

Casting sessions should be accessible. So, to avoid discrimination, do not:

• Refuse to see or consider an actor on the basis of their disability,
• Reject an actor or encourage the rejection of an actor on the grounds of their disability,
• Fail to make reasonable physical and communication adjustments during the casting process:

Reasonable Adjustments for Casting:

• Give an actor with dyslexia more time to read a script and provide the script in a sans serif font on coloured paper.
• Provide a script for a visually impaired actor in a larger font (say 18 point) or in the font size and type requested.
• Arrange a ground floor audition space for an actor with a mobility impairment.
• Be prepared for a personal assistant to accompany an actor to an audition or for a visually impaired actor to bring a guide dog.
• Book an audition room with an induction loop for an actor who uses a hearing aid.