Nicu's Spoon is an inclusion-oriented

off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway theatre, Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commerc ...

theater company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The company works with actors regardless of age, ability, gender, color or ethnicity and seeks to challenge stereotypes and expectations. Nicu's Spoon was the first fully inclusive company in

. Nicu's Spoon are also co-founders of the Disability in Cinema Coalition (DCC).

Productions

Nicu's Spoon productions began in 2001 with the original work ''Displaced'', and was followed with a 2002 production of ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Harper Lee. It became instantly successful after its release; in the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' ...

''. Others works include Eric Overmyer's ''In Perpetuity Throughout the Universe''; ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...

''; Mac Wellman's ''Murder of Crows'';

Eric Bogosian Eric Michael Bogosian (; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian-American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and attended the University ...

's ''

subUrbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

''; a play adaptation of ''Ordinary People'' by Nancy Gilsenan (from the book by Judith Guest); Elizabeth Egloff's ''The Swan''; a play adaptation of ''

Le Petit Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English language, English and French language, French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock i ...

'' by Ric Cummins and John Scoullar; Mark Medoff's ''Stumps''; Gary Henderson's ''Skin Tight''; Ken Duncum's ''Cherish''; ''

Buried Child ''Buried Child'' is a play written by Sam Shepard that was first presented in 1978. It won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and launched Shepard to national fame as a playwright. The play depicts the fragmentation of the American nuclear family ...

''; Constance Congdon's ''Tales of the Lost Formicans'', '' Shakespeare's Richard III'' in 2007 and 2015, and ''

Elizabeth Rex ''Elizabeth Rex'' is a play by Timothy Findley. It premiered in a 2000 production by the Stratford Festival. The play won the 2000 Governor General's Award for English language drama. Plot The plot involves a meeting between Queen Elizabet ...

'', which after its run moved to New York's Center Stage in August 2008 for a one-month limited

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

engagement; Peter Barnes' ''Red Noses'' in 2015, and Maxwell Anderson's ''The Bad Seed''. They have presented world premieres of original works, ''A Kite Cut Loose in the Middle of the Sky'' as well as over forty-five new plays in their years of their new plays reading series. They produced the ''

Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run at the Westside Theatre. The play explores co ...

'' in Hawaii at the University of Hilo in 2019, and two virtual plays ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' and '' Dancing at Llughnasa'' in 2020.

Documentary

In 2013 and 2014 they were followed for six months for a documentary film produced by The School of Visual Arts in NYC, called ''Two and Twenty Troubles''.

Awards

The company was the recipient of the 2006 Thom Fluellen Award from the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Community Fund for "excellence in programming for the diverse city of New York". It also won a 2004 OOBR award for its production of ''subUrbia'', and a 2008 Snapple/Mayor of NY City Award, as well as a 2008 NY Innovative Theatre Award and a 2015 NY Innovative Theater Award.

Artistic director

Stephanie Barton-Farcas (born Stephanie Melissa French) is the artistic director. She has worked extensively in theater in Los Angeles and New York City and was the co-founder of Nicu's Spoon Theater Company in 2001. She has more than twenty years experience as an actress. Barton-Farcas began her theatrical career as a child actor in the Pacific Northwest, later studying at

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the ...

and getting a BFA in Theatre. She acted in Los Angeles in both theatre and film before taking an eight-year hiatus when she lived and worked in Central and Eastern Europe. After returning to the United States, she began to work in theatre and film in New York and founded Nicu's Spoon Theatre in 2001. She sits on the board of Nicu's Spoon as well as on the board of Identity Theater Company in NYC. She has guest lectured on Inclusion in the Arts for many universities as well as groups including Accessibility New York and the

United States Institute for Theatre Technology The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of design, production and tec ...

(USITT). As artistic director of Nicu's Spoon Theatre Company, she has received a range of reviews. The 2007 production of ''Richard III'' with its double-casting of the lead role was called "a disjointed production" by ''The New York Sun'' but also hailed for the convention "it worked particularly well here." Her written work is often on the subject of inclusive theatre, including ''Disability & Theatre: A Practical Manual for Inclusion in the Arts'' and ''Acting & Auditioning for the 21st Century''. as well as being a contributor to "Applied Theatre with Youth, Education, Engagement, Activism" by Routledge Press in 2021, authoring the chapter on youth with disabilities. "Theatre practitioners such as Stephanie Barton-Farcas demonstrate inclusion and accommodation reflecting the social model through the ways in which they take responsibility for providing accessible materials and physical space, and how they value differences as strengths in a diverse world".

References

*Denton, Rochelle. "Darren Fudenske, Buried Child", NYTheater Voices Interview, September 25, 2006, retrieved October 6, 2006 *Barton-Farcas, Stephanie. "Why Aren't you Working with Disabled Artists?", ''Backstage Magazine" reprinted on ADA site'', May, 2006, retrieved October 6, 2006. *Marmor, Jessica. "Not So Ordinary People", Columbia School of Journalism, November 1, 2004, retrieved October 6, 2006 *Ovalles, Henry (May 2016)
A Life in Art ep 33 May 18 Stephanie Barton-Farcas
''A Life in Art ep 33 Interview Stephanie Barton-Farcas''
Stephanie Barton-Farcas - Routledge & CRC Press Author Profile
Routledge Author profile *Smullens, SarahKay (October 2018)
"Leave No Trace" (Though Invisible to Most) An Examination of Social Work Skill at Its Best
'' The New Social Worker''. *Block, Michael (April 5, 2015)
Spotlight On...Stephanie Barton-Farcas
" Theatre in the Now". *Considine, Allison (October 20, 2015
Theatre Artists With Disabilities Are Ready, Willing, and, Yes, Able
''

American Theatre Magazine Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre in the United States. The organization also publishes ''American Theatre'' magazine and ''ARTSE ...

''. *Viafas, Robert (September 1, 2015
Off-Off-Broadway Company Plans Richard III with All Differently Abled Actors
"Playbill interview about Richard III" ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...

''. *Linnehan, Nichola
Disabled Actors in NYC - Theater Scene New York Broadway Review
"Disabled Actors in NYC" '' Theaterscene''. *Axelan
Richard III with all Differently Abled Actors
''

All the World's a Stage "All the world's a stage" is the phrase that begins a monologue from William Shakespeare's pastoral comedy ''As You Like It'', spoken by the melancholy Jaques (As You Like It), Jaques in Act II Scene VII Line 139. The speech compares the world ...

''. *Christopherson, Jod
How the Day Runs Down, reviewed by Jody Christopherson
"How the Day Runs Down Review" '' NY Theatre Review''. *Hickey, Patrick Jr
Review Fix Exclusive: Interview with 'Bad Seed' Director Stephanie Barton-Farcas
'Interview with Stephanie Barton-Farcas" '' ReviewFix Exclusive'' *Fox, Jenna Tess
Elizabeth Rex Returns
'Elizabeth Rex Returns" ''

Broadway World BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...

'' * "CalArts Theater Alumni" *Barton-Farcas, Stephani
Full of IT: Guest Blogger of the Week: Stephanie Barton-Farcas
"New York Innovative Theatre Guest Blogger Stephanie Barton-Farcas" '' NYITA Awards Inclusion Spotlight''

External links