Neuronormativity, naturalism and the neurotypical gaze: the equating of neurotypicality and quality in actor training

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Metadata sources used for this reference

OpenAlex Crossref BibTeX OpenCitations
Learn more about the sources used

Glen, Z. (2025). Neuronormativity, naturalism and the neurotypical gaze: the equating of neurotypicality and quality in actor training. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 16(1), 119-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443927.2024.2428615

Publication date: 2 Jan 2025 Added to AutiHub: 9 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Zoë Glen *

Abstract

Neuroinclusion in performer training is an emerging area of research, with work being published on the needs of particular neurominority groups and on general neuroinclusive practice. Similarly, discussions on inclusive performer training have advanced rapidly in recent years; including those around decolonisation and interculturalism in actor training. This paper explores some of the findings of my doctoral research, in which I conducted interviews with autistic participants currently studying in drama schools. One key finding from this research concerns the effect of neuronormativity on the autistic student-actor, whose socio-emotional reality may look different to that of their non-autistic peers. This is particularly present in naturalistic and Stanislavskian techniques which have focuses on ‘realistic’, ‘truthful’ or ‘authentic’ performances, but also permeates more broadly into ideas of what ‘good acting’ looks like. In this paper, I place autistic students’ descriptions of their training in conversation with others’ work about inclusion within actor training to draw parallels between neuronormativity and other normative power structures. I frame these findings with ideas of the ‘Neurotypical Gaze’ (McDermott Citation2022) to articulate how ‘legibility’ of emotional expression operates within actor training. I draw on ideas of autistic culture and practical explorations to propose how practice can be improved.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 17 Oct 2026 01:28.

Cited references
36
With a DOI
29
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
7
8 / 36 (22.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
6 / 36 (16.7%)
References with detected author names
30 / 36 (83.3%)
Without detected author names
6
Without a structured title
5
Without a stable identifier
7
References with raw author names still to review
5
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
58
From DOI or external metadata
58
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
5
26 / 58 (44.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 32 / 58 (55.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
9 / 58 (15.5%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 9 / 26 (34.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 8 / 56 (14.3%).
  2. (n.d.). ArtsEd. 2024. “BA (Hons) Acting - ArtsEd.” Accessed October 15 https://artsed.co.uk/course/undergraduate/undergraduate-acting/ .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  3. Tamara Kalandadze , Elisabeth Øverland , Heidi Reistad Pavel , Jørgen Bergem Loftås , Peter Branney (2024). “I often feel it falls on my shoulders to be the one who takes responsibility”: Perspectives of Autistic Adults, Parents, and Professionals on Cross-neurotype Communication in Educational and Healthcare Settings . Center for Open Science.
    Type: Preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/rqtj4 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4393337522
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  4. Virginia Braun , Victoria Clarke (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology . Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1979290264
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  5. Kristine Landon-Smith , Dominic Hingorani (2023). The Intracultural Project . In Stanislavsky and Race (pp. 121-135). Routledge.
    Type: Book chapter DOI: 10.4324/9781003330882-11 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4385450832
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  6. Frank Camilleri (2015). Towards the study of actor training in an age of globalised digital technology . Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 6(1), 16-29. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/19443927.2014.985334 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2000955276
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  7. Eleanor Buckley , Elizabeth Pellicano , Anna Remington (2021). “The Real Thing I Struggle with is Other People’s Perceptions”: The Experiences of Autistic Performing Arts Professionals and Attitudes of Performing Arts Employers in the UK . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(1), 45-59. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04517-0 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3023240124
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  8. Lisa Peck , Evi Stamatiou (2024). Critical Acting Pedagogy . Routledge.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.4324/9781003393672 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4398235944
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  9. Deborah Carolyn Leveroy (2013). Enabling performance: dyslexia, (dis)ability and ‘reasonable adjustment’ . Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 4(1), 87-101. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/19443927.2012.748687 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2012167517
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  10. Siiri Scott , Paul Fryer , Jay Paul Skelton (2023). Stanislavsky and Race . Routledge.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.4324/9781003330882 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4385444107
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  11. Sobh Chahboun , Frode Stenseng , Alexander G. Page (2022). The changing faces of autism: The fluctuating international diagnostic criteria and the resulting inclusion and exclusion—A Norwegian perspective . Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 787893-787893. Frontiers Media SA.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.787893 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4288435376
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  12. Laura Hull , K.V. Petrides , C. Allison , P. Smith , S. Baron-Cohen , Meng-Chuan Lai et al. (2017). “Putting on My Best Normal”: Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), 2519-2534. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3166-5 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2616560149
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  13. (2011). The Politics of American Actor Training . Routledge.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.4324/9780203867778 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2588981549
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  14. Michelle Cleary , Sancia West , Rachel Kornhaber , Catherine Hungerford (2023). Autism, Discrimination and Masking: Disrupting a Recipe for Trauma . Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 44(9), 799-808. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/01612840.2023.2239916 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4386127306
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  16. Chloe Farahar * (2022). Autistic identity, culture, community, and space for well-being . In The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Autism Studies (pp. 229-241). Routledge.
    Type: Book chapter DOI: 10.4324/9781003056577-23 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4307049144
    AutiHub · Autistic Autism Scholarship Project Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  17. Daron Oram (2018). Losing sight of land: tales of dyslexia and dyspraxia in psychophysical actor training . Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 9(1), 53-67. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/19443927.2017.1415955 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2791821342
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  18. Kathleen A. Flannery , Robert Wisner-Carlson (2020). Autism and Education . Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 29(2), 319-343. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.chc.2019.12.005 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3006764435
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  19. Daron Oram (2018). Finding a Way: More Tales of Dyslexia and Dyspraxia in Psychophysical Actor Training . Voice and Speech Review, 12(3), 276-294. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/23268263.2018.1518375 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2891617901
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  21. (n.d.). Griffiths Ellie. 2018. Raising the Ambition: Exploring Possibilities for Autistic Artists to Thrive in Scottish Theatre. http://www.limitlesspilot.co.uk/uploads/8/2/5/9/82595058/final_report__by_ellie_griffths.pdf .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  23. Connor Tom Keating , Jennifer Louise Cook (2020). Facial Expression Production and Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders . Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 29(3), 557-571. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.chc.2020.02.006 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3015907530
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  25. (n.d.). Kapp Steven K. 2019. “How Social Deficit Models Exacerbate the Medical Model | Autism Policy & Practice.” 2 (1). https://openaccessautism.org/index.php/app/article/view/16 .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  26. Petronilla Whitfield (2021). Inclusivity and Equality in Performance Training . Routledge.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.4324/9781003125808 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3200739109
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  27. Soo Youn Kim , Manisha Udhnani , Luc Lecavalier (2024). Heterogeneity in autism spectrum disorder explained by social-communicative and restricted repetitive behavior balance subgroups . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 114, 102387. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2024.102387 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4393246279
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  29. Lisa Peck (2021). Act as a Feminist . Routledge.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.4324/9781351130516 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4242149211
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  30. Petronilla Whitfield (2019). Teaching Strategies for Neurodiversity and Dyslexia in Actor Training . Routledge.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.4324/9780429458590 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4253987674
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  32. Evi Stamatiou (2023). Bourdieu in the Studio . Routledge.
    Type: Book DOI: 10.4324/9781003305880 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4385769083
    Crossref OpenAlex OpenCitations
  33. (n.d.). RADA. 2024. “BA (Hons) in Acting—RADA.” Accessed October 15 https://www.rada.ac.uk/courses/ba-hons-acting/ .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  34. (n.d.). Rivera Abigail. 2022. “The Autistic Actress.” The Autism Helper. https://theautismhelper.com/the-autistic-actress/ .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  35. Stanislavsky Constantin. (2013). An Actor Prepares . An Actor Prepares.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  36. Zarrilli Phillip B. (2002). Acting (Re)Considered: A Theoretical and Practical Guide . Acting (Re)Considered: A Theoretical and Practical Guide.
    Type: Other
    Crossref