Main Street Theater Announces Theater for Youth Accommodations Performances
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 23, 2016
Main Street Theater's professional Theater for Youth program produces plays based on children's literature for families and school groups and reaches over 130,000 audience members yearly. MST strives to be a theater for all youth and is launching its first ever accommodations performances. Families who need such accommodations as Sensory Friendly performances (including a Quiet Room) for children on the autism spectrum; American Sign-Language Interpreted performances for hearing-impaired children; and Audio Descriptive performances for children with low vision or blindness can now add MST to groups of Houston arts organizations providing such opportunities.
"Adding ASL, Audio Descriptive, and Sensory Friendly performances to our repertoire is so important to our mission," says MST Theater for Youth Producing Director Vivienne M. St. John. "Now that we are in our new facility at the MATCH in midtown, we are able to implement them. How can we be a true Theater for Youth if we cannot accommodate all children? By working with our community partners, we are now able to offer opportunities for children with learning differences or other special needs to experience and enjoy live theater as well."
For theatergoers with disabilities, access often requires services of trained professionals (such as captionists, sign language interpreters, audio-description personnel) or it requires the removal of physical barriers to the facility. Accommodations performances "give children and young adults with special needs in our community the opportunity to experience theater in a way that accommodates their sensory needs," asserts Jenny Ferguson, Transition Services Director at the Monarch School and Institute. "There are limited resources like this in our community, so it's critical we be more inclusive of individuals with differences."
October 15, 2016 at 2:00pm: Audio Descriptive performance of Duck for President
October 22, 2016 at 11:00am: Sensory Friendly performance of Duck for President
October 29, 2016 at 11:00am: ASL interpreted performance of Duck for President
November 13, 2016 at 12:30pm: Audio Descriptive performance of Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas
December 10, 2016 at 11:00am: Sensory Friendly performance of Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas
February 12, 2017 at 12:30pm: Audio Descriptive performance of Mockingbird
February 2017 (exact date and time TBD): Sensory Friendly performance of Mockingbird
March 4, 2017 at 11:00am: Audio Descriptive performance of How I Became a Pirate
March 5, 2017 at 12:30pm: Audio Descriptive performance of Ramona Quimby
March 12, 2017 at 12:30pm: Sensory Friendly performance of Ramona Quimby
April 1, 2017 at 2pm: ASL interpreted performance of Ramona Quimby
April 22, 2017 at 11:00am: Sensory Friendly performance of How I Became a Pirate
April 30, 2017 at 12:30pm: Audio Descriptive performance of Goosebumps the Musical - Phantom of the Auditorium
May 13, 2017 at 11:00am: Sensory Friendly performance of Goosebumps the Musical - Phantom of the Auditorium
June 24, 2017 at 11:00am: Sensory Friendly performance of The Wizard of Oz
July 16, 2017 at 12:30pm: Audio Descriptive performance of The Wizard of Oz
Main Street Theater is partnering with the Monarch School and Institute and working with the Hobby Center and the University of Houston to implement this new initiative.
In March of 2016, American Theatre Magazine, the national theater magazine published by Theatre Communications Group, named Main Street Theater one of the top 20 theaters in the United States for Theater for Youth programming.
About Main Street Theater
Main Street Theater provides theater experiences for all ages. Founded in 1975, our MainStage produces professional, intimate, literary plays for adults and operates under an Actors' Equity Association union contract; our Theater for Youth produces professional, engaging productions based on children's literature for families and school groups, both in-house and on tour around Texas; and we offer Education and Outreach programs on-site and at satellite locations around the Greater Houston area for youth aged 4 - high school. We work out of 2 facilities: our Rice Village home on Times. Blvd., and as part of the MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) on Main Street.
Main Street Theater is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters, of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (formerly ASSITEJ), the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people, and a founding member of Houston Arts Partners. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
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