WATCH: Meet Theater Breaking Through Barriers

Meet the Theatre

Meet Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB), an Off-Broadway company dedicated to advancing artists with disabilities. Founded in 1979 as Theater by the Blind, TBTB changed its name and expanded its focus in 2008 to include artists with any type of disability. With diverse casts tackling a wide range of shows, the company shatters misconceptions about what performers with disabilities are capable of and what types of characters they can play. While the troupe initially focused on classics (Shakespeare, Brecht, Sophocles), in recent years it has commissioned new works by lauded playwrights such as Tony winners John Guare and David Henry Hwang, and MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow Samuel D. Hunter.

This video was directed by Andrew Block, and shot and edited by Scott Fetterman.

See more Meet the Theatre videos.

Read about other NYC theatre companies that showcase artists with disabilities.

Andrew Block is an Ovation Award-winning director who hails from New Orleans and now works primarily with the vibrant NYC independent theatre community. He also serves as TDF’s Partnerships and Off and Off-Off Broadway Services Manager.