[K]onversations with Zed Lightheart (of DDCP)
What is "Pre-Show Access"?
Zed Lightheart is the Access Coordinator for Dan Daw Creative Projects (DDCP), who co-curate the Fokus Tanz anniversary edition SORRY NOT SORRY. His job involves addressing access issues not only for the company, but also for audiences. He and the team developed the so-called Pre-Show Access, to improve the experience of audience members who have access needs or anyone who would benefit from more time or information about the show before it begins. For SORRY NOT SORRY there will be Pre-Show Access at almost every show. On this occasion, Kampnagel dramaturge Luise März put four questions to Zed about this concept.
What does the concept of Pre-Show Access actually mean?
As a disabled-led performance company, we are advocates of incorporating Care, Consent, and Access in everything that we do. The idea of Pre-Show Access largely came about from my own disability (I have autism). For example, I need to know where I will be sitting beforehand (so if a show is open seating, without any way of seeing where I will be sitting before the show starts, then I probably won't go). I am also light and sound sensitive, so it is really helpful for me to know a show's intensity of sound and lighting, when it occurs and how long it lasts. Using my own access needs as a starting point, the concept of Pre-Show Access broadened to include as many access requirements as we could think of, as well as non-standard access needs, such as social anxiety or phobias.
What happens during the Pre-Show Access?
An hour before the performance starts, we have Pre-Show Access. It's an informal, 'drop-in' session with information about the show (the credits, the music, set, stage and props) photographs of the costumes, and key moments in the show. We display a Trigger Menu that lists content that might be confronting for some audience members, and invite anyone to talk these over with DDCP staff. We also bring any audience members that need it into the theatre space. This gives those people time to get used to the space, and explore the stage, set and props, if they need to. We can demonstrate lights and sound at their most intense, and show where the captions for the show will be displayed. We let people choose where they want to sit (if there is open seating) and invite them to enter the space early, before the rest of the audience enters.
Who organizes and hosts the Pre-Show Access?
I do. I work with theatre staff to choose where Pre-Show Access happens, (usually close to the auditorium/hall entrance) and display our information. If the show is in a country where English is not the spoken language I usually work alongside a native speaker, who can translate. I rely on theatre staff to facilitate the early entry of those people that need it.
For whom is Pre-Show Access aimed?
Anyone who needs more information or support to enjoy the show is the right person for Pre-Show Access. The key word is 'need'. Pre-Show Access is not designed as a VIP 'behind the scenes' experience. It is a tool designed to support and care for people that need it. This includes, but is not limited to, audience members who are visually impaired, neurodivergent, Deaf or hearing impaired, and/or physically disabled. Also anyone who is anxious, has concerns about the show content, needs to sit in a particular seat, or just needs more time to accustom themselves to the theatre space.