Theater Company presents Curious Incident, autism in a thoughtful light

The book-turned-play, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” was performed from November 30 through December 2 by the ARHS Theater Company to rave reviews.

While the play has been controversial because it features an autistic main character written by a neurotypical writer who relies on some stereotypes about autism, performing arts department head and theater program director John Bechtold took care in executing a thoughtful and inclusive version of the play. 

He said he typically looks for plays that “explore new worlds” and open up conversations about identity. “We still saw a lot of value in bringing the story into the light so long as it didn’t play into stereotypes,” Bechtold said. 

The play is about a 15-year-old boy named Christopher Boone, who sets out to solve the mystery of the death of his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, and discovers truths about himself and the world as the story unfolds. 

Bechtold conferenced with autistic students at ARHS before putting on the play and they also shared messages about ableism (or discrimination that disabled people face) that were printed In the show’s program.

“In the play, Christopher, overstimulated by people yelling, and being highly sensitive to being touched, hits a police officer when he is grabbed. Christopher is portrayed as violent, when, in actuality, things like this happen because police, and other professionals, need to be better trained in responding to sensory needs,” students wrote. 

Bechtold was grateful to incorporate the “perspective and experience of our own [neurodivergent] students going through high school” and to think “about the visibility of that and how little narrative there is out there and how seldom we get to hear those voices.” 

Before setting out to work on the play, Bechtold also reached out to Kathy Olson, a liaison for autistic students in the AIMS program, who said she “greatly appreciated Bech reaching out to me and my students for input right from the beginning.” The ARHS Theater Company and the AIMS Program did a workshop with story sharing, so the actors in the play could have more context for their performance. 

On top of that, the stage and tech team also included many neurodivergent students. 

Ninth-grader Z Vamosy, starred as Christopher Boone, though they’ve only started acting this school year. The role of Christopher came somewhat naturally to Vamosy. “I feel like I identify a lot with him. Like I have a lot of the same sensory sensitivities that are portrayed in the play,” they said. 

The preparation came with a lot of work, with the role requiring almost constant on-stage presence, with many cues and lines. “There was a thought of pacing, talking in a British accent, and I learned how to memorize lines during the process,” Vamosy said. “I also read the book multiple times.” 

Senior Shae Thomas-Paquin played the role of Christopher’s schoolteacher, Siobhan, and was a mentor for Vamosy, whether it was support in memorizing lines or being a welcoming member of the ARHS Theater Company. Thomas-Paquin has been a part of the ARHS Theater Company all four years of her time at ARHS. 

The community of the ARHS Theater Company is very tight-knit, with the support of each other as they prepare for each production. “This was a small play, and we were really close together,” Thomas-Paquin said. “We also had to rely on each other a lot to get comfortable with people.”