Peck School of the Arts students are taught the importance of research in the arts. As an arts school within a leading research university, nearly all the art that students create comes as the result of thorough research.
Elizabeth Lappano, a junior studying Theatre Production, has taken her ongoing research project on equity and inclusion in the arts to great heights. Currently focused on aspects of neurodivergence, Lappano will present her findings at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2025 in Pittsburgh this April. This is the second consecutive year that Lappano’s research was accepted for the conference.
Lappano’s project
Neurodivergence has surrounded Lappano her whole life, as she “grew up in a community of disability.” Lappano has since been diagnosed on the neurodivergence spectrum, fueling her desire to pursue a project about neurodivergence in the performing arts.
“Neurodivergence is a spectrum where everybody has their own abilities and setbacks,” said Lappano. “It’s understanding that there are people similar to you. While you’re going to have your differences, you’re not alone in what you’re going through.”
Lappano’s project, “Neurodivergence in the Arts: How A Neurodivergent Brain Creates, Performs, and Designs,” includes research on famous artists who identify as Neurodivergent and their struggles and triumphs with the diagnosis. The project also interviews current PSOA students, including actors in an upcoming production.
“This project is trying to identify successful neurodivergent artists so people can feel that they are not the only ones suffering with the problems that can come with neurodivergence,” said Lappano.
This project aims to explore the ways artists create, perform, and design their work, investigating the relationship between certain functions of the brain and how those functions affect artistic expression.
Lappano has not only collaborated with her PSOA student peers but has worked with UWM’s Accessibility Resource Center and City University of New York (CUNY) Applied Theatre students who are researching how to properly facilitate theatre with neurodivergent students.
The project has been supported by Lappano’s mentor Ralph Janes (Teaching Faculty III, Theatre Education & Directing) who has been working to improve accessibility and inclusivity in theatre for several years.
Lappano presented work at NCUR last year, focusing on visually impaired patrons’ experience in the performing arts. Returning to the conference is important to Lappano’s desire to spread the message of improving inclusivity in the arts.
“I think it’s such an important message that needs to be talked about,” said Lappano. “My experience isn’t going to be everyone’s experience, but I’m excited to talk about my experience and what other students have gone through.”
Research is essential to the arts
Throughout her time at PSOA, Lappano has been a strong example of how research is essential to the arts.
“Arts as we know it is often visual or performance-oriented,” said Lappano. “All the things that go on behind the scenes are built on research. Research allows us to evolve our pieces. It allows us to expand what we’re working on and make it deeper.”
Lappano will use her research in the theatre department’s production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” which centers on a character who appears to be neurodivergent. Lappano is responsible for the dramaturgy for the cast so they can approach this story with empathy and understanding. Plans are also underway for a display of Lappano’s research on famous neurodivergent artists and interviews with students and faculty who identify as neurodivergent or have worked closely with students on the spectrum.
Throughout her extensive research, Lappano credits faculty members Ralph Janes, Robin Mello (Professor, Theatre), Christopher Kurtz (Teaching Faculty II, Scenic Production) and Steve White (Associate Professor, Design & Production) for being helpful and supportive resources.
“My professors are some of the most accepting and open people I’ve ever met,” said Lappano. “They truly want to see their students succeed in any way possible… That support in Peck is so important because it helps you remember you’re not the only person fighting to succeed.”
As for Lappano’s project, she described that she does not see an endpoint. Instead, she hopes to continue her research to ensure that the arts change in tandem with the evolution of society’s understanding of neurodiversity.
“Our approach to inclusivity and accessibility needs to evolve over time,” said Lappano. “There are goals we can meet along the way, but there’s never that finish line that we can cross because we have to constantly change with our ever-changing world.”
Story by Jason McCullum ’25