In Feb 2013 I was commissioned by the Ticketing Professionals Conference (www.ticketingprofessionals.com.au) to provide an overview of access for the disabled within the performing arts sector. It is a good guide for anyone involved in the sector who is beginning to look at access programs within their venue or organisation.

1. ACCESS
ALL AREAS
Ricky Bryan
Marketing Manager
Twitter: @rickydbryan

2. ACCESS
ALL AREAS

3. ACCESS
ALL AREAS
• Why is access important?
• The legislative environment
• Access audits
• Mobility impaired
• Blind and vision impaired
• Deaf and hearing impaired
• Other issues
• Tips and Tricks

4. • Access is becoming
an increasingly important issue in
society and government– the NDIS and
COAG
• Most Govt funded arts orgs have a
mission to appeal to ALL their
constituents
• Source of a loyal paying audience
WHY
ACCESS?

5. WHY
ACCESS?
• ABS stats say the 4 million Australians
currently have a disability of some sort
• Over half of all Australian aged over 60
have a disability
• There are 2.6 million carers of people
with a disability in Australia
• 2.9% have a profound disability this
number projected to grow by 70% by 2031
• Its an audience and it’s growing

6. • Access is becoming
an increasingly important issue in society
and government– the NDIS and COAG
agreement
• Most Govt funded arts orgs have a mission to
appeal to ALL their constituents
• Good Government and corporate PR
• Source of a loyal paying audience
• Because it’s the RIGHT thing to do
• Social isolation
WHY
ACCESS?

7. THE RULES
• The rules are complex and varied and are
dictated by agencies such as:
• The Federal Government
• State Government
• Council Governments
• The LPA code of conduct
• The UN Universal declaration of Human
Rights
• Too complex for most people to get a grip
on – so what do you do?

8. ACCESS
AUDIT
• Independent assessment
• Ensure current legal compliance
• Identify any gaps
• Benchmark against best practice (above
and beyond base compliance)
• Provision of a real actual physical report
to help guide you along the way
• http://www.accessauditsaustralia.com.a
u/aaa_contact.aspx

9. MOBILITY
IMPAIRED• Entry & Egress
• Ramps to seats
• Dedicated wheelchair spaces
• At all feasible price points?
• Access to back of house and admin for staff,
crew and performers
• Lower counter level at box office and bar
• Toilets
• Special ticketing requests – aisle seats, no
steps, you’ve had these – and policies to deal
with them

10. VISION
IMPAIRED• Website suitability for large print and
text reader applications
• Large print and Braille publications such
as season brochures
• Box Office and foyer environment – tape
on steps, Braille permanent signs, step
lighting inside theatres.
• Tactile tours
• Audio described performances
• Ticketing requests – near the front

11. VISION
IMPAIRED
• Audio description – image courtesy of
QPAC

12. HEARING
IMPAIRED• Foyer and box office loops
• Amplified speeches eg: Opening nights
• Loops and/or headsets in auditoriums
• Box office ability to reserve headsets or
iPods for captions when booking tickets
and other loan policies
• Caption performances
• Special seating for optimal viewing
• Signed performances for the Deaf
• Again special seating for optimal viewing

13. HEARING
IMPAIRED
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_detailpage&v=VvxYlduBBUU
Image: Sue Daw, courtesy of the Canberra
Times

14. OTHER
ISSUES• Haze, Strobe and Smoke effects
• Policies to communicate these to patrons
and refunds?
• Carer seats/Companion Card
• Website accessibility
• Staff and board diversity
• Marketing the services
• Produce an Access brochure, distribute it,
make community connections, promote
service on show material and ads, do some
PR, signage

15. • IMAGES OF BROCHURE ETC

16. ON STAGE
DIVERSITY
LEADERS
• Back to Back
- Ganesh vs the Third Reich and
Laserbeak Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_detailpage&v=e9u58rEh
bSk
• Australian Theatre of the Deaf
• No Strings Attached Theatre Company
• ISSUES:
• Non-disabled people in disabled roles.
• Ability-blind casting

17. TIPS AND
TRICKS• Any headset or special loan equipment
should be subject to a pre-show test routine.
• Think about how to best manage the set
asides for carer seats, wheelchair spaces,
caption viewing and the like.
• Remember wheelchair seats when enacting
prestige pricing
• Whole of organisation buy-in
• If using smart phone tech – does 3G work
inside your building?
• Respond to any complaint immediately

18. Summary
• Access is important and increasingly so
• Move now before you are forced to
• Commission an access audit as your first
step
• Choose what you can afford to do then do
it well and thoroughly
• Appoint a champion
• Market the services and reach out to the
community

19. LASERBEAK
MAN
• Just because it’s cool!
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?
feature=player_detailpage&v=jSoKv0U7
xrM