In August of 2023, Sketchbook Theatre was granted an artist residency at ARTPARK, a cultural institution and park located on the Niagara Gorge near Buffalo, NY.

David Barlow was accompanied by three extraordinary NYC based actors (Danielle Skraastad, Krystel Lucas, and Jacob Orr) to facilitate a workshop led by David Glass, a pioneer of physical and devised theatre. 

The team worked with members of the local community who have Parkinson’s Disease. Together we all devised a new theatre piece based on the myth of Orpheus descending into the underworld to retrieve his beloved Eurydice. It was a powerfully evocative experience for all involved, culminating in an outdoor performance that was incredibly moving.

This seminal experience was profound for the participants, as many had considered themselves either too disabled or inexperienced to ever create a performance, much less perform in it themselves. We are grateful to ARTPARK for inviting us to work with such courageous and inspiring people, and we look forward to returning. 

Sketchbook’s collaboration with ARTPARK and David Glass Ensemble is a prime example of our commitment to create outreach theatre events that widen the horizon of possibilities for the communities we engage. Likewise, we are committed to engendering a more equitable world through the projects we promote.