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Theatre Is For Everyone
Story by: Danielle Allen
At BroadwayCon on
January 24, industry leaders gathered
for a panel titled “Theatre Is For
Everyone: Furthering Audience
Accessibility on Broadway and Beyond,”
exploring how to make theater accessible
to the widest possible audience.
Moderated by Danielle
Allen of BroadwayHD, the panel featured
Ryan Howland and Harry Smolin of Theatre
Development Fund (TDF), Beth Prevor of
Hands On, Stephanie Barton-Farcas—author
of Disability & Theatre: A Practical
Manual for Inclusion in the Arts—and
BroadwayHD’s Wally Sedgewick.
Panelists discussed why
accessibility is essential to the future
of theater and offered insight into how
initiatives such as autism-friendly
performances (AFPs) and ASL-interpreted
shows are developed. Smolin shared his
perspective as an autistic theatergoer
and consultant, explaining how lived
experience helps shape TDF’s AFPs.
Howland outlined plans to expand these
offerings, reinforcing TDF’s commitment
to welcoming neurodivergent audiences.
Prevor described Hands
On’s work providing ASL-interpreted
Broadway and Off-Broadway performances,
highlighting recent and upcoming
interpreted productions. Barton-Farcas
drew on her experience with inclusive
theater companies to underscore the
prevalence of disability and the
importance of embedding access into
every stage of production.
Sedgewick emphasized how
streaming has broadened access,
particularly since the pandemic. While
digital capture cannot replace the magic
of live performance, BroadwayHD serves
as a bridge—offering flexibility and
control for audiences who cannot attend
in person.
The conversation
concluded with thoughtful audience
questions and a shared commitment to
continuing advocacy, reminding attendees
that meaningful accessibility begins
with awareness and action.
To learn more about
TDF’s Autism Friendly performances,
visit
https://www.tdf.org/accessibility-services/tdf-autism-friendly-performances.
Upcoming AFP shows this season include
Just In Time, MJ The Musical, Buena
Vista Social Club, & Juliet, and
Hamilton.
To learn more about the
work of Hands On, visit
https://www.handson.org/.
To learn more about
Stephanie Barton-Farcas and her work at
Nicu’s Spoon, visit
https://spoontheater.org.
To check out BroadwayHD,
visit
www.broadwayhd.com.
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