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Obtaining Childcare For a Date Night Isn’t a Civil Rights or Access Issue
Recently, an incident hit the news about a baby causing quite a stir at Sir Kenneth Branagh’s hit production of The Tempest with the RSC. Evidently an infant near the front of the theatre “gurgled and cooed” so disruptively that many patrons spent the interval demanding refunds. I was personally surprised to see so many…
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On Fair Gatekeeping and Accessibility
Gatekeeping often feels like a dirty word in disability circles online. But it very often isn’t. It is often how things stay truly fair and accessible, in the sense that people who really and genuinely need help get it. It isn’t just theatres. At Walt Disney World in Orlando, even when Disabled families wanted to…
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Performers and Disabled Patrons Often Face Similar Risks at Stage Doors
By: Kelsey Maurine Brickl Stage doors are not part of the ticketed experience, but if they occur, they must be safe and equitable. This is especially true for performers and for Disabled patrons. That has become one of the central principles and operating theses of Ghost Light Access because it names the actual operational problem…
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Phone Enforcement in Theatre: Discipline Without Spectacle
By: Kelsey Maurine Brickl Content Warning: This post discusses medical emergencies, public shaming, trauma, sexual assault, and C-PTSD. The header image is an AI-generated artistic illustration created solely to represent the themes of this article. It is not a photograph and does not depict any real people, real events, or actual incidents. All opinions expressed…
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From Orchestra Row E to Stage Left
By: Kelsey Maurine Brickl SCENE: A journalist attends a Broadway press night. The theatre has accessible seating. The wheelchair-accessible ticket was purchased over the phone without significant difficulty. Staff know where the wheelchair location is. The accessible entrance is open. The lift is functioning. The accessible toilet is available. The performance ends. Afterward, the journalist,…
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The Curtain Call Access Problem
by Kelsey Maurine Brickl A recent theatre discussion centered on audience members filming curtain calls. The conversation produced strong opinions, familiar arguments, and a great deal of concern about theatrical etiquette. It also overlooked a much larger accessibility issue hiding in plain sight. For wheelchair users, the curtain-call problem doesn’t come down to whether or…