ATC began with a question, offered to Executive Director Dr. Dale Savidge by a family in Texas. They wondered if theatre could be of any help to their middle-aged son who was diagnosed with autism. Dale, a theatre educator and director, instinctively answered โyes!โ โ and then was challenged to discover how theatre could help people with autism. That initial question, and resulting quest, led to the founding of the ATC with a conference in March 2011. Since that time Dr. Savidge has initiated ongoing theatre activities for a young adult autism group and for the homeless community at Triune Mercy Center. He has offered workshops in applied theatre (including to theatre artists in San Juan, PR), and has organized a additional conferences and workshops. Together with Ferncreek Creative, a development company founded by theatre artists, the ATC has reached out to scores of organizations in the upstate of SC. After creating these applied theatre programs, Dale realized the importance of proper training and supervision, as much of the applied theatre programming ventured into therapeutic encounters. He entered the training program of the North American Drama Therapy Association and in 2017 earned his registration as a Drama Therapist. He now leads drama therapy and other expressive arts groups in foster care homes, substance use treatment facilities, for grief therapy and for private clients.
