Reimagining theatre as a visually-impaired artist | In The Spotlight - video Dailymotion

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"Disability isn't meant to be hidden or overcome, it is just a way of being, just a way of existing." Diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at four, Claire Teo, a 26-year-old performer, writer, director and educator, shares her journey of embracing her visual impairment to redefine accessibility in theatre. She inspires others to see disability as a creative possibility rather than a limitation.  Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video

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00:00People often ask me what it's like to have a disability and I tell them it's

00:08like nothing at all. Until I realized that the world isn't built to include people like me.

00:15Hello, my name is Claire Thieu. I am 26 this year and I'm a performer, writer,

00:25director and educator. I teach at special needs schools and social service

00:30organizations like Art Dis. Art Dis is an organization that advocates and creates

00:35job and education opportunities for persons with disabilities through the arts.

00:38I perform in theatre productions, commissioned festival works and then

00:46most recently at the Singapore International Festival of Arts.

00:50Theatre has always been more than entertainment to me. When I'm on stage I can be messy and chaotic,

01:00I can be lame, I can be anything that my character asks me to be. There's so many different parts of

01:09me that I can't show in real life but then when I'm on stage I can be free. That freedom is what I want

01:17others to have as well.

01:21I was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at the age of four. It is a degenerative eye

01:26condition that consists of night blindness, colour deficiency, lazy eyes, tunnel vision

01:32and triple vision. Right now it has deteriorated to a point where I can only see

01:37some light, shadow and some colour. So it's like a children's painting placed

01:44underwater and the colours are merging and blending into each other.

01:50I didn't set out wanting to be an advocate. I just wanted to perform but then the more I did work

01:56and the more I interacted with different communities, I realised that I couldn't just perform for myself

02:02and I started to use the stage as a platform to give voice to more communities and to normalise disability.

02:14When I was younger, it was very difficult for me to identify with the disabled community,

02:18probably because of how I grew up. There were a lot of expectations. A lot was self-imposed, a lot was external.

02:28But for whatever reason, I just really wanted to be normal. I wanted to fit in.

02:35At some point I was pretending that I could see. I would run my eyes across a page I couldn't read

02:42just to look like I could. It got really exhausting.

02:48The turning point came when I met my mentor Peter Sau. He scolded me a lot, I remember.

02:55To try to change my mindset about things. But then he also brought me to meet many other disabled artists

03:03and all of them were so creative. They shared different perspectives and they were so talented

03:10that I started to believe disability was not a deficit but a possibility for creativity.

03:18I started to find creative ways to work with my disability and sometimes even finding and learning new skills

03:24in order to accommodate. And I stopped hiding.

03:28So when I was in LaSalle, we had auditions for the roles, right? And I was given the scripts one day before the audition.

03:43And while everyone else could see and sight-read and still hold the script even during rehearsals,

03:48for me, I had to memorize it before the audition in order to give myself a chance.

03:53Today, I juggle multiple roles. Performer, teacher, leader, programs executive.

04:02Not because I'm a superwoman, but because I'm trying to build a sustainable life

04:07in a world that is still learning to become more inclusive.

04:12I was the first visually impaired person to enter the performance course in LaSalle

04:17and that meant the course wasn't designed for someone like me.

04:21And I had to teach my teachers and my friends how to help someone like me.

04:27They were really, really giving and they tried to use tactile and verbal cues to help me during classes.

04:38Being the first doesn't mean I have to be the last.

04:41I really hope that me being there means I can open doors for more people like me.

04:47In fact, I was invited back in 2022 to teach the Engaging Communities module to the Diploma in Level 3 students.

04:55And I see this as a huge step forward.

04:59Today, I teach at Lighthouse School, working with students with visual impairment and hearing loss.

05:05One day, this student told me that his dream is to be a cleaner.

05:14And I was very upset because who told him that?

05:19Who taught him that that was the only dream he could have?

05:24What happened to having bigger dreams?

05:27Even for someone who is disabled?

05:30I really hope to journey with them and facilitate them in finding their passions and a stronger voice for themselves.

05:39I truly believe that accessibility can be beautiful.

05:43It can deepen the arts.

05:45I have led and conceptualised different theatre projects, one of which is called Monstrous.

05:50It was really exciting and it's one of my brainchilds.

05:54We tried to embed audio description and creative captioning into the show for more communities to appreciate the work.

06:03And there are so many other projects where we tried different ways to do audio description.

06:09There were times where I prioritised sensory narration.

06:14There were times that I prioritised character.

06:18Embedded narration is something that we are going to explore in Scenes from a Climate Era.

06:24That is an Esplanade Studios production.

06:27And that's when all the description is embedded into the script and the soundscape.

06:35It is not charity.

06:38It is the craft.

06:39It is art.

06:41Ultimately, I hope that my disability doesn't make me special anymore.

06:48I can be Medusa, Lady Macbeth, Juliet.

06:53I can be a friend, a daughter.

06:56A mess of contradictions.

06:58Completely unique, yet so ordinary.

07:02Just like everyone else.

07:04And that's the point, right?

07:06Disability isn't meant to be hidden or overcome.

07:10It is just a way of being.

07:13Just a way of existing.

07:17My dream is that one day, I no longer have to advocate.

07:21When being seen as equal is simply a given.

07:25Until then, I will keep showing up.

07:27On stages, in schools, in meetings.

07:30Because every person that I meet is one more person who might pass it on.

07:35And that is how we can begin.

07:37And it is a free practice to do that.

07:38And in schools, I know that people will not be here.

07:39I am not ready to find anything.

07:40I am not ready for the conversation.

07:41I am not ready for the conversation.

07:45So, I don't see your dad where I am.

07:46I mean when it is time for me.

07:47I am not ready to walk over there.

07:48I can't wait for you.

07:50If you haven't.

07:51I am not ready for your body.

Reimagining theatre as a visually-impaired artist | In The Spotlight

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