An interactive musical, comic, and rhythmic journey through the past … backwards! Using a combination of backing tracks, live guitar playing, and live looping, Andee Joyce leads us through a half spoken/half sung musical comedy narrative (with lots of audience participation) about growing up autistic amid the pop culture cheese of the 1960s and 1970s.

Students will learn about what it was like to be autistic at a time when terms like “autism spectrum” and “neurodiversity” didn’t exist (because the autism diagnosis at the time didn’t apply to kids who could talk or had any interest in other people, and families who were known to have neurodivergent kids were often shunned). They will also find out about how Andee’s autistic fixation on rhythm eventually became a way for her to embrace her difference and use it as a means to connect with others — and have a blast doing it!

If your students can’t get enough clapping and/or percussion, this is the RHYTHM AND AUTISM version for you. From the very beginning, the audience will have plenty of chances to join in, whether with their hands, feet, mouths, or percussion instruments, and the show will build to a thunderously joyous, fully participatory climax. Students will be encouraged to clap and make other rhythmic sounds that are cool and different and will be invited to help Andee make live rhythm loops. At least part of the audience will be visible to Andee throughout the performance, making the experience pleasurable for her too. Middle and high school students will have the chance to add more complex looping and percussion rhythms. The school is encouraged to make hand drums or other hand-held percussion instruments available to the audience. It’s fun, inclusive, and a great way for students to discharge excess energy — or get revved up if they need more energy!

This program offered by: Andee Joyce: Rhythm and Autism