Alice Christina-Corrigan is a visually impaired and neurodiverse actor, theatre maker and creative captioner passionate about changing the trajectory of accessible theatre for good. ‘I was born with a genetic condition called Ocular Albinism’ she quotes. ‘I am the first in my family with it and I think that altered the way I perceived myself’.
Alice always knew she wanted a career in the arts. ‘I was a shy kid until 9, where a teacher randomly gave me a part in a school play and really, that was that. I knew, no matter how, I would be an actor.’ Alice talks about the lack of representation on TV, films, stage and radio saying ‘at times, growing up I convinced myself no one would want a ‘blind girl’ on set.
I became fixated on the condition and convinced myself no matter how talented I may be, because my eyes shake- no one would take me seriously, it wasn’t until I began my Masters at drama school [having previously studied Drama at University] that I started to understand that the reason I felt that deep disappointment in myself was due to the lack of disabled led stories in media growing up, particularly visually impaired actors’.
She says ‘Very often, I feel VI artists are stereotyped in a particular way, especially in TV and film. But the truth is, we are obviously all as unique as each other with very different access needs. However, very often in the casting room, you are seen as either ‘too blind’ or ‘not blind enough’ and I want to change that.’
Alice used her MA Thesis to question how we can make theatre accessible for blind and Deaf audiences, which saw her sky rocket her career with her work being quoted as ‘The Future Of Accessible Theatre’.
She began writing her one person show Past Life, a show centering around the normalisation of sexual assault in relationships, whilst creatively and dynamically integrating creative access into the core of the story, receiving two successful ACE bids, supporting not only her personal creative access development, but the show’s debut at Camden People’s Theatre this summer.
Her work has been supported by Graeae, Barbican Centre, CRIPTIC Showcase, Octagon Theatre, National Youth Theatre, Art With Heart, Carmen Collective, NSDFest and most recently Alice became an associate artist at Extant, a visually impaired theatre company, who have partnered with Alice in the upcoming production of Past Life as part of Bloomsbury Festival 2022.
‘Getting to work with Extant, a company who have made me feel at home, a company whose ethos is centered around championing visually impaired narratives is something a younger version of me would have never seen possible’ Alice says.
‘We are currently finalising script edits, captions and sound design for the show and I am utterly thrilled to be stepping into the role again. The play is incredibly special to me and is a vital piece of storytelling, not just for disabled communities, but in regards to the themes of the play.’
Past Life will be performed by Alice Christina-Corrigan on the 16th October, 7pm at RADA Studios.
Tickets: https://t.co/SQxPVm8NQy
Alice has worked as an actor for companies such as The Everyman Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Birds of Paradise, Box of Tricks and Production Exchange. ‘I’ve been fortunate to work with many great companies and as my practice has evolved it’s been joy us to enter rehearsal rooms and get to work in different forms, such as audio description consultancy’
During Alice’s career she has taught herself how to create creative captioning and sound design. ‘It’s not easy but my god it’s worthwhile’.
Alice continues, ‘But the thing is, just because something is hard it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t push ourselves to achieve it.’
The more we continue to see people such as myself making dynamic pieces of work that also ‘happen’ to be creatively accessible, the less we will be marketed as ‘radical’ because it’s not. It’s theatre. And the sooner we start seeing (creative access) as an industry standard instead of an ‘add on’ the better theatre will become.
Alice began making captions in Lockdown. ‘I had no budget, I had no clue, I was winging it, but it worked.’ Inspired by colour, sound, rhythm and emotion, Alice continued to teach herself software, to bring to life her visions. ‘I can get lost in the creation, lock myself away in the dark and spent two hours exploring fonts, getting the right shade of blue to match a scene, the first day I saw my captions on stage, last November at the Barbican, I couldn’t believe I had done that – which goes to show, if you want to make accessible theatre with zero to no money, you can.’
‘If I can inspire one child to pursue their dreams because they see someone who looks like them on screen, then i have done my job’
Alice works closely with companies such as DANC in order to make positive changes in the industry, ‘the revolution starts with us, starts with being unapologetic, taking up space. It ends with the industry being unable to block us out. Alice champions new and emerging disabled artists and wants to continue to be a spokesperson for fair representation of visually impaired actors.
‘This career isn’t easy for anyone, but disabled people have extra barriers often overlooked. I want to set an example, the example I wish I had growing up. To prove that no matter how difficult this industry may be, you are worthy of being a part of it.
‘I have many hopes and dreams’ Alice says ‘But they all conclude with me taking risks, creatively pushing myself and tearing apart the system and building it back up again. I want to leave the industry in a way that is unrecognisable to how it was when I entered it, so you know…. I’m not asking for much.’
Alice concludes. ‘I do this all for the 9 year old me who stood in a mirror and said, I’m going to make a change. I do it hand in hand with every other disabled artist who sat with themselves and made a similar promise. I do this to make a possitive change. I do this for those who years ago, didn’t have the chance to. I do this, because I love it. I do this, because we deserve our names to be remembered.’
Tickets are on sale for the show now, you can purchase them following this
Past Life by Alice Christina-Corrigan
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/past-life-by-alice-christina-corrigan-ticket-36829838