Along the Graveyard Path: A History of Disability premiered on YouTube on November 1, 2021.

Act One consisted of eight weekly episodes released every Monday through the end of December 2021. Act Two began January 3 with the same weekly release schedule through the end of March 2022.

From prehistoric times to the present, Along the Graveyard Path presents a timeline of shifting attitudes about disability from rejection to empathy to inclusion. Theatre on the Spectrum actors researched local archives and collections of oral histories from Akron’s disabled community, their family members and caretakers to give voice to their experiences of invisibility and segregation.

This production was inspired by “The Poor Lost Souls of Akron,” a local history article on Akron’s unmarked graveyard lying beneath Schneider Park, by Mark Price of the Akron Beacon Journal. Once the site of Akron’s Poor House, Schneider Park (known locally as the Graveyard Path) is the final resting place for many of its disabled citizens, including unwed mothers, criminals, the mentally insane, and other societal rejects. The opening episode features Price’s article presented as a newsreel. It was filmed in collaboration with Josh Gippen, for The Forgotten Dead, his documentary on Schneider Park. Company members were filmed re-enacting scenes from the history of the poor house.

We then go all the way back to the earliest disabled human remains found in Neanderthal caves. From that point we move forward in time stopping to examine how a variety of cultures have treated their disabled citizens (including ours today).

Along the Graveyard Path is a 2019 Knight Foundation Akron Arts Challenge award winner. This production was scheduled to be performed live on stage in the summer of 2020 with a cast of 18 actors and musicians. When the pandemic hit, CADA closed their studio in March of 2020 and moved entirely online. The company began the transition from stage play to audio drama. The scenes were recorded in Zoom during the height of the lockdown.

Carolyn Behrman and Timothy Matney of the University of Akron’s Department of Anthropology, provided assistance sharing historical records and information about Schneider Park. Featuring the music of disability rights activist and bard, Jeff Moyer, ATGP was directed by Wendy Duke, with Laura Valendza as assistant director, Cast members include Amanda Bugenske, Brian Cogar, Erica Crank, Jake Dietz, Jordan Euell, Sean Giannetti, Samir Hammoud, Scott Hudson, Sid Kranz, Dre’ia McCoy, Brandon Meeker, Joseph Moran, Ruben Ryan, Nicholas Santiago, Daniel Seemann, Cyrus Shariari, Laura Stitt, JT “Styles” Toomer, and Jude Yovichin.