Artists with Disability Forge Path with Second Echo Ensemble

Twenty years ago, a small performing arts company was born in Tasmania. It brought together people with and without disability, eventually evolving into a community program within a theatre company that prides itself on exceptionalism. Danielle Kutchel reports.

It’s called Second Echo Ensemble (SEE). Dave Montgomery, a young man with Down syndrome, is one of the founding members. He joined 20 years ago and hasn’t looked back since. During his time with SEE he’s been able to sink his teeth into different roles, flexing his artistic muscles. He particularly loves dancing, drumming to music and designing, and is excited to have a place to be able to do that.

Second Echo Ensemble exists to challenge perspectives and perceptions. It centres disabled voices and performances and forces audiences to rethink what they know about disability and art. The ensemble puts on a variety of performances across the year, with people with disability in starring roles or putting their backstage skills – directing, writing and creating – to produce shows that promote equity simply with their existence.

SEE is now a not-for-profit arts organisation with its own studio and artists. SEE creative director Kelly Drummond Cawthon, said it is growing astronomically, allowing more artists and staff to join and more projects to take place. Annalise Haigh, who like Montgomery has Down syndrome, joined SEE in 2021 as an administrator. Slowly but surely, her inner artist emerged. Soon, she’ll be performing as a backup dancer and singer in the upcoming production of The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. The musical was written by Montgomery, and its performance will mark the first time SEE has done a musical.

Cawthon said it has a strong focus on storytelling for families and young people. Montgomery said he’s proud to have written a musical. His drawings have influenced the design and costuming of the characters too, translating it directly from his head to the stage. He has also designed the merchandise, including a bunch of t-shirts. “I loved it. Very awesome! I feel happy and excited,” he said of the process of creating.

Throughout the process, he said he has worked hard to follow in the footsteps of directors he has worked with, and to inspire his fellow artists the way previous directors have inspired him.

The artists with disability at SEE are backed up by a team of mentors with

skills in singing, songwriting, music production, choreography, design and

more. These mentors help the ensemble to develop their skills, give life to their ideas and embrace their talents.

“That’s how the ensemble works. We do it all together,” Cawthon said.

Haigh said she feels “very creative” now that she’s able to be on stage – even though it wasn’t always her plan to be a performer.

Her favourite part of the job is “going on trips”, when SEE visits other performing arts groups around the country for development and outreach.

The trips also teach ensemble members about what it’s like to be a professional touring theatre artist. Last year, SEE went to the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in New South Wales to lead a workshop for its students. SEE ensemble members also rehearsed at the Sydney Dance Company, and members are set to rehearse at the Sydney Theatre Company later this year before performing at the Sydney Opera House.

“It’s these venues of scale, not only in their size but their importance in the

performance industry. [By going there] we say, we belong here,” Cawthon said. “This art and these artists belong everywhere. You can’t gate-keep us out of these iconic venues.”

She said inclusivity is starting to filter through the performing arts industry, with “a little bit more diversity on our TVs and in the movies”, but “we’ve still got a way to go”.

And many companies are focused on merely ticking disability inclusion boxes, rather than creating genuine inclusive spaces and opportunities for artists with disability.

“People are still talking about including us in the mainstream. Already, there’s such a hierarchy of language there – that means the power to include and the assumption that there is a mainstream. I think there’s not, it’s just a notion,” she said.

“We are all completely different. Some of us look more different than others. And that’s what we are here to challenge; that every single person has an individual experience in this world. And some might seem more similar than others, but if you’re honest, we’re all here alone and looking to find a way of belonging.”

Haigh said she has found her place with Second Echo Ensemble.

“I always call them my family, so I found myself my home with Second Echo,” she said. “I can’t believe this happened to me. We can actually achieve.”

Montgomery agreed and said SEE had helped him to find direction, and its Pathways to Work program had helped him feel “relaxed”.

Pathways to Work gives budding performing artists the chance to learn the skills they need to ‘make it’ as a professional artist while connecting with the sector and building their job readiness. They are also supported to access traineeships or work placements if they wish.

The SEE studio is split between its artistic program – the ensemble of artists who lead projects, like Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon – and the Pathways program.

“Our Pathways program is about showing up and investing in yourself and your practice,” Cawthon said.

Haigh said artists with disability like herself and Montgomery might face barriers elsewhere, but at SEE, they aren’t discouraged and can talk about disability “in a positive way”.

She wants other artists with disability to know not to let negativity get the better of them. “Don’t give up. Just give it a go,” she said. “You have to be more authentic… and be yourself, expressing yourself. Feel the nature.”

This year, Second Echo Ensemble will celebrate its 20th birthday. It has just completed its biggest ever show with a cast of over 50 people. As well as Mongomery’s Adventures musical, SEE has an art exhibition coming up later this year. In what’s sure to be a major milestone, some members will also be going to New York in December for International Day of People with Disability, to perform at the United Nations.

Cawthon said it’s about saying, “look how far we have come, [and] look at who we are now”.

Get in touch with Second Echo Ensemble at www.secondechoensemble.org

This article by Danielle Kutchel was originally published by Link - Australia’s disAbility magazine. Read the magazine article here.