
studies in musical theatre, Issue 19.2
State of The Field Roundtable: Disability Pedagogy and Practice in Musical Theatre
Samuel Yates, Caitlin Marshall, Ryan Donovan, Barrie Gelles, Christian Lewis, and Anthony Michael Lopez
In this roundtable conversation, six musical theatre scholars and practitioners engage in a wide-ranging conversation about the evolving intersection between disability and musical theatre inpedagogy and professional practices. Starting from the provocative notion that disability unsettlesmusical theatre’s fixation on idealized bodies and normative performance standards, the discussantsinterrogate current institutional practices, reflect on their personal experiences navigatingaccessibility,and call out persistent barriers. This roundtable vividly captures tensions between artistic norms and the lived realities of disabled performers in university training grounds and the industry by highlighting inclusive approaches and critically examining what it genuinely means to embed accessibility into theatrical practice. Collectively, the roundtable dreams forward, positioning disability not as an exceptional condition but as an expansive, dynamic source of creative potential