Spring Awakening
Learn more about our production happening May 9-19
at A.R.T. New York Theatre - The Mezzanine Theatre
Spring Awakening is an electrifying journey through the trials and challenges of adolescence, with music by Duncan Sheik. Winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, the story explores the mystery of attraction, desire, sex, insecurity, and the highs and lows of navigating the pressures of young adult life.
Since EPIC’s inception, we have worked to elevate neurodivergent voices and challenge people’s perceptions of what Disabled actors can do. Spring Awakening is a beloved musical for many actors at EPIC and a story they connect with. EPIC’s company members chose to do this musical, and this cast is very passionate about telling it.
EPIC deliberately chose to produce a show with intense subject matter at EPIC precisely because it challenges perceptions. By participating in shows that address mature themes, neurodivergent actors are not only asserting their agency but also enhancing audience understanding. This helps to provide a creative fulfilling working space for EPIC Players and allows the story to resonate more deeply and authentically with a broader audience.
The sensitive material of this show is not something we take lightly. We’ll introduce you to some of the individuals helping to ensure the show is performed in a safe, thoughtful, and creative environment.
Director’s Note
by Travis Burbee, Spring Awakening Director
Since EPIC’s inception, we have worked to elevate neurodivergent voices and challenge people’s perceptions of what Disabled actors can do. Spring Awakening is a beloved musical for many actors at EPIC and a story they connect with. EPIC’s company members chose to do this musical, and this cast is very passionate about telling this story.
The sensitive material of this show is not something we take lightly. In addition to our regular support in the rehearsal process, we also worked with a Mental Health Counselor, an Access Coordinator, and an Intimacy and Fight Director to support our cast through the process. It has been such a pleasure to work with this passionate cast and dedicated crew.
EPIC deliberately chose to produce a show with intense subject matter precisely because it challenges perceptions. Our aim is twofold: to demonstrate that Neurodivergent actors excel in diverse roles and to assert the sexual agency of the Disabled community. Too often, society infantilizes the Disabled, withholding crucial information about sexuality. Yet, the reality is grim: instances of abuse, depicted in our production, occur disproportionately within this community. NPR reports that individuals with intellectual disabilities face sexual assault rates over seven times higher than those without disabilities—a staggering statistic seldom discussed.
This show may take place in 18th-century Germany, but its subject matter is more relevant than ever. We live in a time where people are actively being attacked and having rights restricted because of who they are. Women’s autonomy and access to healthcare is being taken away. Abusers of sexual assault are often not held accountable and queer communities are being unjustly slandered. The information in our education system is being censored and gun violence is a constant threat. Spring Awakening is a show that is meant to challenge you. Sometimes, to make the world better, we must take a hard look at the darkest parts of it.
Spring Awakening first came to me in high school – a time when I was a closeted teen desperately trying to please my religiously conservative family. The songs gave voice to so many feelings knotted up inside of myself that I had no way to express or process. An entire group of characters felt as lost and confused as I did. These voices understood the pain of trying to follow impossible rules, of having to hide. They helped me find the strength to rebel and choose my own path.
Often, a misguided attempt to protect can cause much more harm in the end. In The Awakening of Spring by Frank Wedekind, the play Spring Awakening is based on, the character Martha says, “If I ever have children I will let them grow up like the weeds in our flower garden. Nobody worries about them and they grow so high and thick - while the roses in the beds grow poorer and poorer every summer.”
Content Warning:
This show features themes of intense intimacy and violence; including cursing and strong language, suicide, rape, sexual abuse, graphic sexual scenes, and abortion. This production will require staged intimacy and staged violence.
Sensory Warning:
There will be moments of darkness and moments of intense bright light. There are some flashes of lights along with sounds of thunder. During Act 2, a gunshot will be heard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Spring Awakening about?
Spring Awakening is centered around a group of adolescents in 19th century Germany. The culture and educational environment is very repressed, with strict rules and restrictive education, especially when it comes to sex. We see the effect this has on the youth of the town as their stories play out. They fight, struggle, and rebel against the status quo with a modern edge.
Why did EPIC choose Spring Awakening?
Since EPIC’s inception, we have worked to elevate neurodivergent voices and challenge people’s perceptions of what Disabled actors can do. Spring Awakening is a beloved musical for many actors at EPIC and a story they connect with that shares striking parallels with the challenges our community often face. EPIC’s company members chose to do this musical, and this cast is very passionate about telling this story.
Why is it important for a company like EPIC to put on Spring Awakening?
EPIC deliberately chose to produce a show with intense subject matter at EPIC precisely because it challenges perceptions. Our aim is twofold: to demonstrate that Neurodivergent and Disabled actors excel in diverse roles and to assert the sexual agency of the Disabled community. Too often, society infantilizes the Disabled, withholding crucial information about sexuality. Yet, the reality is grim: instances of abuse, depicted in our production, occur disproportionately within this community. NPR reports that individuals with intellectual disabilities face sexual assault rates over seven times higher than those without disabilities—a staggering statistic seldom discussed.
What steps is EPIC taking to ensure that Players are supported through the rehearsal and performance process?
The sensitive material of this show is not something we take lightly. In addition to our regular support in the rehearsal process, we also worked with a Mental Health Counselor, an Access Coordinator, an autistic self-advocate and sex book author, and an Intimacy and Fight Director to support our cast through the process. It has been our goal since day one to prioritize the health of our cast as we navigated through this sensitive material.
There are also many supports we regularly put in place for all shows at EPIC. Each Player has their own advocate they can meet with one on one to work things like lines, blocking or anything they need help with. The team puts together a plethora of resources such as vocal tracks, blocking notes, and rehearsal videos that are kept updated throughout rehearsals. We have a team of multiple stage managers and directors who support the cast along with sensory soothing devices and quiet spaces for those who need a break. We try to create a professional rehearsal environment where mistakes are welcomed and asking for support is encouraged.
An Interview with Spring Awakening
Access Coordinator: Jamie Rose Hays
EPIC Players works with Jamie Rose Hays to coordinate access for audience members, cast, and crew. We chatted with Jamie to learn more about this work and Spring Awakening.
Jamie also answered the questions in ASL version.
1. Can you share a little about yourself and your work?
Sure! By day I’m an Professional Development Specialist, and an American Sign Language/English interpreter. I have been interpreting for a decade now. I came to EPIC in this role - interpreting/coordinating their performance interpreters for Almost Maine.
2. How have you been working with EPIC Players on their Spring Awakening show?
I am the Access Coordinator with EPIC. This is really a two-pronged approach! For Spring Awakening, I coordinate the front of house access needs for our audience members. This entails making our shows captioned and ASL interpreted for our Deaf and hard of hearing friends, and audio descriptions for our blind and low vision friends. This also includes collaborating on an Access Guide for any patron who needs more transparency around what to expect at our show and in our space.
I try to find ways to engage these audience members by creating more accessible websites, providing visual descriptions and videos in ASL. But most importantly, engaging with these communities directly to invite them into the process and share feedback! EPIC’s mission is to be inclusive and provide opportunities to unrepresented communities. We want them to not only experience a show, but feel drawn to this company and welcomed into its orbit. Whether that’s to join as a Player, an Advocate, teaching artist, creative team member or a superfan.
The second prong is that I also work with our cast to support individuals throughout their rehearsal process. This ranges from scheduling, prepping and coordinating interpreters to bridge the language needs of our hearing cast/crew and our Deaf cast member and Director of Artistic Sign Language.
This also encompasses finding ways to make the process and the space supportive for our blind cast member. Furthermore, this role also allows me to work towards individual strategies for any cast member that is dealing with anxiety, discomfort, overstimulation, confusion, and any challenge that may prevent them from bringing themselves fully to the stage.
3. Why is accessibility an important aspect of planning a show?
Putting on a show is bringing humans to the fireside and sharing a story. A story that makes you feel, makes you analyze your own life, your choices and hopefully to grow just a little more. How can one do that if they don’t feel welcomed to the fire?
For those that are the storytellers, if they don’t feel it’s a space to share and be fully immersed then how likely are they to give of themselves?
For me, access is about humans learning how to be the best versions of themselves by removing, or limiting, societal and ingrained barriers and beliefs. When we work towards that - we all learn more about ourselves.
4. Has there been a moment in your work on Spring Awakening that really resonated with you?
Stoppp! 🤣 There have been a million moments. Let me put it this way, I saw the original Spring Awakening and the Deaf West revival on Broadway. Both revolutionary and captivating in their own right. EPIC’s Spring Awakening I have experienced a plethora of times. You’d think I’d be over it. Been there - done that.
I am STILL moved to tears, I am STILL laughing out loud, I am still witnessing moments onstage between characters that I have not noticed before. They pull me in EVERY time.
5. Is there anything you wish more people understood about your work?
My work is not work. It’s an honor to navigate this process. I’m no expert. I will never be perfect at this. I am truly humbled and motivated to do the best I can in this role. It allows me to grow as a person, and to feel more connected to my fellow human ;).
6. Is there anything else you would like to share that hasn’t come up in these questions.
Fun fact: I have known Samuel Langshteyn, who plays Hanschen in Spring Awakening, since 2015 (almost a decade!) when I was his junior year classroom interpreter. To see Sam grow from a 16 year old student, dancer, artist and all-round amazing kid to this full-fledged professional actor is so moving to me. I watch him onstage and emotion catches in my throat, my eyes well up and I just think - this amazing life! What a gift to bear witness to his journey.
An Interview with Spring Awakening
Mental Health Counselor: Taupa Fogo-Toussaint
EPIC Players is working with Taupa Fogo-Toussaint to provide mental health counseling and support for our cast and production team. We chatted with Taupa to learn more about her work and Spring Awakening
1) Can you share a little about yourself and your work?
I am a school psychologist with New York City Public Schools. I have over 15 years of experience working with Autistic and Disabled children, adolescents, and young adults through challenges. I am also a mental health counselor with a limited permit. In this role, I provide counseling and psychotherapy to individuals, couples, families, and groups experiencing psychological or emotional distress.
2) How have you been working with EPIC Players on their Spring Awakening show?
I am an emotional support coach at EPIC. I work with the actors to address issues of anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, and relationship problems. I help those in need to work through and understand their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and develop coping strategies and solutions to improve their mental well-being so they can perform at their highest potential.
3) Why is it important for someone like you to be in this role supporting a show like Spring Awakening?
Spring Awakening explores themes of sexuality, adolescence, and the oppressive societal norms of the time. While the play itself doesn't directly address trauma in the modern psychological sense, it does touch upon various themes and experiences that can be related to trauma, especially in the context of the characters' struggles with societal expectations, sexual repression, and emotional turmoil.
The characters in "Spring Awakening" navigate a world where open discussions about sexuality and mental health are taboo, leading to feelings of isolation, confusion, and repression. Some characters experience traumatic events or situations, such as abuse, suicide, or unwanted pregnancies, which can have a significant impact on an actor’s mental and emotional well-being.
Trauma is often intertwined with the themes of adolescence, identity formation, and sexual awakening depicted in the play. The characters in the play grapple with the consequences of societal repression and the inability to openly address their emotions and experiences, which can exacerbate the actor’s personal trauma/s. As the emotional coach, I support the actors through this journey by providing on-the-spot emotional support, coping strategies, and other mental health resources.
4) Has there been a moment in your work on the show that really resonated with you?
I am in awe of the actors and directors. Their dedication and artistry are something to behold. The directors and supporting staff members are incredibly supportive and sensitive to the cast members' needs and creating a space of respect and advocacy.
5) Is there anything you wish more people understood about your work?
It is essential that people understand that mental health is essential and that mental health professionals are crucial in supporting individuals from all walks of life through counseling, education, and advocacy.
