RespectAbility Entertainment Professionals Lab 2024
Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt
Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt (she/her/hers) is a writer, DEIA + Autism consultant, actress, public speaker, and advocate for disability and autism representation in the entertainment industry. She brings her lived experiences to her work as a Chinese, autistic, Jewish, transracial adoptee – creating a professional niche for herself at the intersections of entertainment, storytelling, inclusion, and accessibility!
Rigelhaupt has developed the ability to write about her lived experience as an autistic woman in a way that’s easily understandable and entertaining for a wide audience. From a young age Rigelhaupt studied behavior, predominantly the neurotypical, just to survive. This becomes evident through her authentic portrayals of both autistic and neurotypical characters. One of her short movie scripts, “How to Grow a Family,” placed in the Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival!
Currently, Rigelhaupt writes for the PBS Kids animated series, Carl the Collector, premiering November 2024! It’s PBS’s first series centering an autistic character. She’s written and consulted on other kids’ tv series, many produced by 9Story Media, but can’t say what yet!
Rigelhaupt received a Drama Desk Special Award for Authentic Autistic Representation recognizing her work as the Autistic Creative Consultant on the Broadway musical, How to Dance in Ohio! This joyous, family-friendly musical follows seven autistic young adults (authentically cast) at a social skills center in Ohio, as they come of age, forge connections, and prepare for a formal dance. It premiered on Broadway December 2023 and is going to the UK in 2025! (It’s based on Alexandra Shiva’s award-winning HBO documentary of the same name.) Rigelhaupt and a colleague presented their work on HTDIO’s groundbreaking Broadway accessibility initiatives at the 2024 Kennedy Center LEAD (Leadership Exchange Arts and Disability) Conference in Seattle, Washington.
As a consultant, Rigelhaupt reviews scripts, discusses disability tropes, edits character sketches, writes casting calls, and educates studios on best practices for hiring diverse, disabled talent. Projects include: Apple TV+ movie “Cha Cha Real Smooth” & Disney series “The Ghost and Molly McGee” season 2.
As a speaker in Disability Belongs/RespectAbility’s Training and Consulting Bureau, Rigelhaupt shares her lived experiences and expertise. She has given keynotes, spoken on panels, and collaborated in writers’ rooms (ex: Sundance, SXSW, Netflix, US Equestrian Federation, JCCs). Rigelhaupt publishes articles and critiques regarding disability representation in media, interviews with entertainment professionals, and her own experiences as a disabled AAPI woman.
Previously, Rigelhaupt worked with the Kennedy Center on a neurodiversity training course and had a year-long internship with the Nickelodeon Live Action Casting team. During her senior year at Sarah Lawrence College, Rigelhaupt was chosen to be a Ruderman Family Foundation Inclusion Ambassador. As an ambassador, she produced the college’s first sensory friendly theatrical performance along with organizing and moderating a panel of NYC professionals to discuss entertainment inclusion practices. (Sensory friendly performances are accessible to people with sensory sensitivities such as lights and sounds).
Rigelhaupt started with Disability Belongs™ through their Lab, and later worked with them as an Entertainment Media Fellow. As a Fellow, she became immersed in the entertainment industry through consulting with studios such as Disney and Netflix on authentic onscreen portrayals of autism, disability, and diversity. She just graduated from Disability Belongs™’ 2024 Writers Lab Intensive, held in Los Angeles!
Rigelhaupt is determined to educate and influence the entertainment industry, creating more opportunities and authentic representations for the talented and diverse disability community.
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After an extensive search and interview process, 5 individuals were invited to participate in an intensive session for disabled comedy writers, taking place June 20-28, with additional virtual sessions taking place in partnership with the virtual cohort, May – September 2024. Participants include people with a variety of disabilities ranging in age from the 20s through the 40s. This intensive elevates disabled creatives, focusing on building community, networking, and career advancement. This intensive is in collaboration with ABC Entertainment.
