By Angie Mayes
MURFREESBORO, TN — When the play “The Glass Menagerie” opens on Friday, Jan. 5 at Oaklands Mansion in Murfreesboro, it will feature a two-time director who just happens to be autistic.
Murfreesboro Little Theatre show director Catherine Buford said she was diagnosed as autistic when she was just 3 but wasn’t told about the diagnosis until she was 17. She said that until then, “I felt like I was always doing and saying the wrong things. I had a hard time making friends because I didn’t know the neurotypical social rules. I was just expected to blend in at the drop of a hat.”
She said she grew up with a “negative look on autism (and) I spiraled into depression when I found out. After a few years of feeling sorry for myself, I did my research and realized that my autism explained why I was such a weird kid. Now I wear my autism on my sleeve and love myself more than ever.”
She said she would probably be considered “high functioning, although she considers the term to be insulting.
“‘High functioning’ doesn’t mean that life is easier for me as an autistic person; it just means that neurotypical people find it easier to deal with me to the point that they don’t feel the need to respect my accommodations. I prefer the term ‘low support needs’ because I’m a bit more independent and only need assistance every now and then,” Buford said.
But being autistic hasn’t stopped her drive when it comes to theater. When her parents showed her Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music” and Mary Martin in “Peter Pan” at the age of 3, she said she knew that she wanted to be a star.
She said she can’t remember exactly when she wanted to be a director, but said it was probably as a high school student when she watched her theater teacher direct a scene.
“After taking a directing class in college, I was given the chance to be an assistant director for ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’ After that, I couldn’t wait to direct a production as the official director,” she said.
Buford said that theater has helped her with her social skills and “my masking as an autistic person, and this was before I even knew I was autistic. I would treat every social interaction as if I were in a play, and it made things run a bit smoother. I’m very passionate as an actress, and that’s why I memorize my lines so quickly.”
After performing in some Murfreesboro
Little Theatre shows, she decided to apply as the director for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” which focuses on an autistic teenager as he tries to solve the murder of his neighbor’s dog.
“I was a little nervous because I had little experience, but I held my head up high as I sat down for my interview,” she said. Because of Buford’s inexperience, she was assigned a co-director.
“I must’ve done something right because the show won ‘Best Show’ at MLT’s end of the season award ceremony,” she said. “Given how successful the show was, MLT gave me the chance to direct ‘The Glass Menagerie’ by myself when I applied as a director for the second time.”
She said her autism helps her notice the smallest details and “that gets my creative juices flowing. I rely on visual aid as an autistic person, and I like to use visuals to tell stories. This could include particular stage movements, unique set pieces or a symbolic costume piece.”
Buford said she is “very carefree and childish,” so people are quick to assume that she can’t take on serious acting roles or handle the role of a director.
“I can be serious, but I’d rather be outrageous than boring,” she said. “I’m only serious when I feel like it’s necessary. Life is too short to be serious all the time.”
“THE GLASS MENAGERIE”
Murfreesboro Little Theatre Oaklands Mansion 901 N. Maney Ave., Murfreesboro
Schedule: Jan. 5-6, Jan. 12-13 at 7 p.m.; Jan. 7, Jan. 14 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $10-$15, plus service fee, available at MLTarts.com
