Life/theatre is for All (disabled audiences, artists, technicians)

Julie Hanna, 2 October 2012

Julie, Nerrissa and Tessa shared experiences and views about access for disabled audiences, artists and technicians - back stage, on stage, looking at the stage.

Included experience of disabled technicians/artists and companies having to pay/adapt theatre spaces, working with people with high levels of anxiety, a project in

Liverpool managed by DaDafest re increasing disabled audiences.

Discussed different “barriers” such as physical access, anxiety, communication/sharing information.

If people are motivated and feel comfortable it can be surprising how much effort they will put into attending an event - e.g. the person who leaves his wheelchair to climb the stairs to watch a performance in a pub, the person who parks their adapted vehicle almost 3 hrs before the start of a performance.

We want spaces to be “comfortable” and the work or performance to be challenging.

There is no such thing as fully accessible or accessible for all.

All theatre doesnt need to be for all. We need to enable conversations about what the possibilities are.

The importance of choice and creating different spaces.

Tags:

challenging, access, Access, Communication, All, choice conversation, comfortable, communication