Jun 22, 2026 · 1 hr 5 min · 10 segments
In the inaugural episode of *Theatrically Authentic*, hosts Sarah Atherton-Knight and Simon Scott explore why theatre feels so magnetic to neurodivergent people — both onstage and backstage. From…
Sarah AthertonHost
Simon ScottHost
And for me, it comes down to two types of brain, and I desperately try to have one, but I'm definitely in the other camp, which is a performance brain and a technical brain, and both of these have different ways of telling stories.
I've tried my best to learn what cables do the thing and go where and how they do the doo-doo, but it never really went into my brain because that's just not how it works.
It's just one of those things where I was like, "I wanna do this anyway." And I was like, "We're just gonna learn.
If we have to write, like, 58 million notes, we're just gonna do it, 'cause we like this," sort of thing.
But I totally, I hear you, and, like, there's still days where I'm like, "What is that?" You know? And people will be like, "Hey, can you get this speaker?" Which is a list of, like, letters and numbers, and I'm like, "I don't know what breed of speaker that is," sort of thing.
Yeah, I felt like I was constantly doing this, and, um, just to sort of, just to give context to anybody that's listening that definitely hasn't worked in the theater industry- It's, it's, it's most definitely two camps.
And I feel like I have somewhat of a unique experience in that I've been able to do both, um, in a professional, in a, in a, an am-dram, as a lot of people would say, an amateur dramatic setting.
And for me, archetypes are very key in that I feel like I can meet somebody and they go, "I'm a techie," and I, my brain goes, "Well, of course you are." Or I can meet an actor or a dancer or a director or a lighting person, and they'll go, "Oh, this is what I do." And I go, "Of course you are." And, and people really fit into these sort of archetypes.
And it's not in any way rude, but it's that sort of thing, like, there's a certain, like, walk that actors and dancers have, and it's one that I would love to do because, like, especially dancers, they're so graceful when they walk.
I bull in a china shop sort of thing, [laughs] so, like, I'm always like, "No, I see.
And for me, it comes down to two types of brain, and I desperately try to have one, but I'm definitely in the other camp, which is a performance brain and a technical brain, and both of these have different ways of telling stories.
I've tried my best to learn what cables do the thing and go where and how they do the doo-doo, but it never really went into my brain because that's just not how it works.
It's just one of those things where I was like, "I wanna do this anyway." And I was like, "We're just gonna learn.
If we have to write, like, 58 million notes, we're just gonna do it, 'cause we like this," sort of thing.
But I totally, I hear you, and, like, there's still days where I'm like, "What is that?" You know? And people will be like, "Hey, can you get this speaker?" Which is a list of, like, letters and numbers, and I'm like, "I don't know what breed of speaker that is," sort of thing.
Yeah, I felt like I was constantly doing this, and, um, just to sort of, just to give context to anybody that's listening that definitely hasn't worked in the theater industry- It's, it's, it's most definitely two camps.
And I feel like I have somewhat of a unique experience in that I've been able to do both, um, in a professional, in a, in a, an am-dram, as a lot of people would say, an amateur dramatic setting.
And for me, archetypes are very key in that I feel like I can meet somebody and they go, "I'm a techie," and I, my brain goes, "Well, of course you are." Or I can meet an actor or a dancer or a director or a lighting person, and they'll go, "Oh, this is what I do." And I go, "Of course you are." And, and people really fit into these sort of archetypes.
And it's not in any way rude, but it's that sort of thing, like, there's a certain, like, walk that actors and dancers have, and it's one that I would love to do because, like, especially dancers, they're so graceful when they walk.
I bull in a china shop sort of thing, [laughs] so, like, I'm always like, "No, I see.
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