Interview: TDF's Director of Accessibility Lisa Carling on the Importance of Autism-Friendly Performances, and More

April is Autism Acceptance Month, and to honor that, BroadwayWorld is highlighting TDF's Accessibility Programs Department.

According to the TDF website, TDF Accessibility Programs provides a membership service for theatregoers who are hard of hearing or deaf, have low vision or are blind, who cannot climb stairs or who require aisle seating or wheelchair locations. Some of the services available to members include accessible seating, audio description, open captioning, and sign language interpretation.

TDF also provides Autism-friendly performances, which present Broadway musicals and plays in a friendly, supportive environment for children and adults who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or other sensitivity issues and their families and friends. Since 2011, TDF has presented more than 18 autism-friendly shows on Broadway, starting with Disney's landmark musical The Lion King.

We chatted with the Director of Accessibility, Lisa Carling, about what the department does, the importance of sensory-friendly programming, any upcoming projects the team is working on, and much more.

Hear from Lisa below!

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Can you explain what exactly your department does, and how it is an integral part of TDF?

The TDF Accessibility Programs (TAP) department offers a wide range of services for theatregoers with physical disabilities and individuals on the autism spectrum. Our services include accessible seating for people with mobility disabilities, open captioning for theatregoers who are hard of hearing or deaf, audio description for patrons who are blind or have low vision, sign language interpreted performances for individuals in the Deaf Community and autism friendly performances for families affected by autism or other developmental or cognitive disabilities. In addition, our department runs the TDF Veterans Theatregoing Program. We ensure that vets receive accessibility accommodations, if needed, at Broadway shows when they attend performances with our veterans groups. Our department is an integral part of helping TDF fulfill its mission of engaging and cultivating a broad and diverse audience and eliminating barriers to attendance.

What is the importance of having sensory-friendly (or Autism-friendly) performances in theatrical spaces?

TDF autism friendly performances provide families affected by autism or other developmental or cognitive disabilities the opportunity to enjoy a Broadway show in a welcoming, judgement-free environment where everyone can just be themselves. It's a "no apology zone," as one parent expressed. To protect this safe environment, our performances are off sale to the general public with tickets available only on the TDF website. We consult with shows to recommend slight modification in lighting and sound that help make the performances more sensory friendly without compromising the integrity of the production. Occasionally, adjustments are made to staging or audience interaction, if needed We approach shows with "if possible" recommendations and respect what's doable and what isn't with the production and artistic teams. TDF wants its audiences to enjoy the same great performances that typical audiences are enjoying. We provide pre-performance resource material on our website and encourage parents and caregivers to use their best judgement if a show is suitable for their particular audience member.

What is TDF doing to make Broadway, and theatre as a whole, accessible to everyone?

My focus in the TAP Department is access for people with physical and developmental disabilities, as well as working with veterans groups. Additionally, TDF as a whole also makes Broadway, Off Broadway and dance accessible through its ticket programs (TDF Membership and TDF); it's School Programs (which bring over 10,000 NYC middle and public high school students in NYC) and Community Engagement Programs which work with community organizations in the 5 boroughs to help make theatre accessible to their constituents. TDF and the Broadway League have partnered on a website called Theatre Access NYC (theatreaccess.nyc) that provides assistance to theatregoers with disabilities. It's a great place to find out everything you need to know about accessibility accommodations when choosing a show, buying tickets and planning your trip to Broadway.

How does your department assist theatres across the country with achieving accessibility?

While we currently are not accepting any new applications, TDF's National Open Captioning and National Autism Friendly Performances Training Programs, have assisted over 50 regional theatres around the country to implement their own captioning and autism/sensory-friendly programming.

What are some of the most effective programs that you have taken part in developing?

The two most effective accessibility programs that I have helped develop are open captioning for theatre, introduced to Broadway in September 1997 with Barrymore, our first open captioned performance; and autism friendly performances, introduced to Broadway in October 2011 with Disney's The Lion King, another huge first. Both these programs helped begin a national and international awareness of two accessibility services that needed to be included and over the years, have made theatre more accessible to thousands of new and previously neglected audience members. These services helped create an appetite for more opportunities in building audiences.

It's wonderful to see captioning technology expand. In June 2018 on Broadway, The Shubert Organization spearheaded GalaPro, the audience services app that provides captioning as well as audio description on a theatregoer's smartphone, available at any performance. The National Theatre in London has had great success in recent years with its smart caption glasses that provide a transcript of the dialogue and description of sounds on lenses of the glasses.

Autism, sensory-friendly, relaxed performances are becoming more standard as part of a theatre's accessibility services which is amazing to see. When we have advised regional theatres over the years to implement this type of programming for individuals on the autism spectrum or with other developmental or cognitive disabilities, we always emphasis theatres draw on resources in their own communities. Use professional consultants in your area. Describe the performances with terminology that resonances with your target audience. Offer supports and resource material that families in your community will find the most useful.

Do you have any upcoming programs in development that you can share?

While our main focus is to maintain our current programs, keep them strong and encourage our audience members to keep coming back to in-person theatre, we are looking at ways to continue virtual content, as well. An example is with TDF Accessibility Programs for Students where we offer elementary, middle and high school students with hearing or vision loss the opportunity to attend specially scheduled Wednesday matinees of Broadway shows and provide interpreting, open captioning and audio description. This spring we are thrilled to be offering Wicked to school groups as our first, post covid in-person show. Typically, we would send a TDF teaching artist into the classrooms to do pre-performance workshops but a surprising number of teachers are asking for virtual workshops instead. During the pandemic, all our show offerings and workshops were virtual but it's interesting to see that the virtual component for workshops is preferred this season and likely an option that we will continue to offer.

Lisa's parting thoughts:

Working in the arts accessibility field all these years, I'm so grateful to be part of social change. People with disabilities are very much a part of our theatregoing audience and it's great to see accessibility services are now part of standard accommodations for all audience members.

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About Lisa Carling

Lisa helps design and implement services that make theatre performances more accessible to people with disabilities on Broadway, Off Broadway and nationwide. She runs a department that provides autism friendly, open captioned, sign language interpreted, audio described performances, as well as seating for theatergoers with mobility disabilities. She also oversees the TDF Veterans Theatregoing Program to ensure NYC's vets have the accessibility accommodations they need when attending shows.

Lisa served on The Shubert Organization's Audience Services Advisory Committee for implementation of GalaPro, an app that provides on demand closed captioning and audio description; and currently serves on Bridge Multimedia's Advisory Group to review broadcast audio description for programming K-12.

As a speaker, she shares her experience in the accessibility field on theatre industry panels, at arts and disability conferences, BroadwayCon and the first ever Broadway Accessibility Summit.

In her previous career, Lisa performed with Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, CT, and CSC Repertory Theatre in New York, as well in the TV and film industry.