Stage Access by Wheelchairs

Yesterday an article in the New York Times described how a man running for a seat on the Denver City Council arrived at a local theatre for a debate, only to find that there was no access from the house to the stage. After attempting to lift himself onto the stage the organizers eventually decided to move the other candidates to the house floor in front of the stage so he could remain in his wheelchair. Yes, a complete debacle. So, let’s talk about stage accessibility.

There are two model codes that a jurisdiction can adopt regarding equal accessibility - Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and ICC A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities. Generally, both standards require that any place someone without an impairment can, for example, travel between two levels via a stair, an accommodation must be made for people with such disabilities as the inability to walk, difficulty walking, or reliance on walking aids. In addition, the person needing an acommodation can’t be made to leave the room. If stairs directly connect the house and stage so must a ramp, lift, or other means. So, if the theatre didn’t have a permanent stair from the house to the stage it would not be required to have a ramp. That doesn’t excuse anyone connected with the debate, but it does explain the theatre’s design.

At Studio T+L, one of our early questions when beginning a new theatre is about travel between the two spaces. In high schools the use plan of the theatre often includes award ceremonies, debates, and other activities where people will go back and forth between the house and stage. As a result, we almost always need to design the house to include a ramp connecting the two.

In professional theatres a connection may or may not be desired. Where it’s not, the expectation is that if a connection is needed (for the band to march down the aisle and up onto the stage in The Music Man, for example) the theatre’s TD will build the needed stairs for the production. A temporary stair doesn’t require an associated temporary ramp, so as long as no one in the band needs a ramp the stairs are fine.

Both codes also describe the needed accommodations in dressing rooms, bathrooms, and audience seating areas including the size of the space allotted to a wheelchair, flip away armrests in aisle seats, steepness of ramps, and the dispersion of wheelchair spaces (generally, they can’t be grouped all in one location).

I admit, I’m sometimes frustrated by these requirements. There are cases where I think if only the ramp could be a little steeper, or a little longer, the overall seating layout could be better. However, that desire is clearly overridden by the need to comply with the law, and to do the right thing. The theatre should speak to and about all of humanity, and should welcome participation by the entire community, not just by some. That means that theatre buildings should be designed for access and use by all, not just people without visible disabilities.