Accessibility is Second Nature to the Kennedy Center

The Nation's Theatre, Open to All

Accessibility is Second Nature to the Kennedy Center

By Joan Leotta

Over four million people cross the marble foyer of the Kennedy Center each year -- as patrons at over 3000 performances and events, or as visitors to honor President John F. Kennedy.

Photograph of the Kennedy Center, in the evening overlooking the Potomac River.

Photo courtesy the Kennedy Center

One small office within the Kennedy Center organization is charged with seeing that those attendees who have disabilities enjoy their tour and performance, that their interests are represented by what is shown on the stage, that the staff is properly trained to assist them, and that the resources of the Kennedy Center can help other arts organizations around the country achieve these same goals.

Development of the Program

"The Kennedy Center's mission has always been to serve all patrons, including those with disabilities," says Betty Siegel, Director of The Kennedy Center Accessibility Program. Providing discounted tickets for patrons with disabilities was among the Center's early initiatives, dating back to the Center's earliest days. Facilities were renovated to ensure access, and various patron accommodation concerns brought about conveniences such as TTY phones, listening devices for stage shows, the use of sign language interpreters, and publication of Braille Playbills. Siegel reports that, "In 1991, the Kennedy Center recognized that the only way to maintain a high level of accommodation and to infuse accessibility into the Center was by creating my office, with staff to monitor and ensure the Center's compliance with all appropriate federal laws as well as to meet the expectations of the community."

Since Siegel became Director of the accessibility program in 1999, the scope of the program has broadened. Now, not only are there programs and services for patrons with disabilities, but, through community outreach, there are also theater programs that feature actors and artists with disabilities, and internship opportunities for students with disabilities.

Siegel makes all of this happen with a small staff of two full-time and one part-time employees and eight volunteers. This small team serves the interests of patrons and performers, ensuring both easy access throughout the facility and comfortable enjoyment of performances.

Although basic building access issues were tackled long ago, the Kennedy Center engages in ongoing renovations throughout the facility to improve accessibility. The accessibility program staff meets regularly with facility managers to ensure ongoing access. In addition, Siegel's department now offers regular staff training with various departments, instructing Center staff on how to assist patrons with disabilities. With an overall full-time Center staff of nearly 300, plus more than 500 volunteers, and another 500 ushers, such training is no easy feat, but it is accomplished in phases. For instance, Siegel's staff offers Web accessibility training for the Center's IT personnel, but other employees are welcome to attend; sign language classes for front-of house staff; and universal design training for facilities staff. "For initiatives such as this one," says Siegel, "we need the strong backing of management to allow so much training time to be devoted to serving those with disabilities."

Building Success

Siegel attributes the success of the program to a guiding principle of inclusion held by many members of Kennedy Center management including her own supervisor, Vice President Derrick Gordon, and Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser. The very reporting structure of her department demonstrates the program's clout: Siegel has the ear of a key Kennedy Center Vice President.

It's no surprise that Kennedy Center management takes care to provide accommodations. Notes Siegel, "The Kennedy Family, represented by Jean Kennedy Smith on the current Board, has a great history of working with people with disabilities in the arts as well. VSA Arts is now a separate organization, but it was for many years [it was] a part of the Kennedy Center." (For more on VSA Arts read SMG's February 2001 Profile in Excellence at http://disability-marketing.com/profiles/vsa.php4).

Siegel's own background lends greatly to the success of the accessibility program. Her 20 years in arts administration work include positions with Washington, DC's Arena Stage, then in Texas, before joining the Kennedy Center staff. In addition, "Community contacts are another part of the equation," says Siegel. "The Kennedy Center is so large; there are so many issues that a standing committee is not practical. We use a list of people and resource groups who form ad hoc committees when issues arise." She also uses that list to obtain quick comments on issues, not only for the Center's benefit but also to assist other arts organizations that call her with requests for information. Siegel notes that community contacts are a wonderful source of new ideas for better serving patrons and staff.

Success Measured

Although the extent of the program speaks for itself, the accessibility program's measures of success with patrons are primarily anecdotal. Reports Siegel, "We get calls and emails all the time from individuals who let us know how helpful the program has been. Quantifying the results is not so easy." Because patrons with disabilities do not need to identify themselves to Kennedy Center staff in order to take advantage of accommodations, the accessibility program uses house manager observations to help gauge the number of such patrons at performances. The managers attempt to count how many patrons with disabilities attend specific performances at the same time that they monitor staff and usher interaction with all patrons. However, Siegel contends that this method usually results in undercounting the number of patrons with disabilities.

While house managers may, for example, notice deaf patrons if they request a sign language interpreter, they may easily miss other patrons with disabilities. "They cannot count those with cognitive disabilities," she reports, "and may even miss someone with a more obvious mobility disability in a large crowd." Siegel notes that, according to 1999-2000 figures compiled for a talk, a little more than 12,000 of the tickets sold that year went to people with disabilities. This includes those who attended the Opera House, Eisenhower Theatre, Concert Hall Theatre Lab, and Terrace Theatre, all contained within the Kennedy Center building. Siegel reiterates that "these figures are probably low" since the House Managers are tracking only what they can see. They are not reporting on the many people with low vision, those with cognitive impairments, or mental illnesses, or arthritis, heart problems, and the like.

Using this base number and some statistics on average theatre groups provided by the International Ticketing Association (INTIX), Siegel theorizes that these 12,000 patrons actually represent 1.5 times more than that. She calculates that the revenue brought in by all patrons who would not have come to the Kennedy Center were it not accessible tops $1.2 million.

Benefits for Other Patrons

Siegel maintains that older patrons, those beginning to have some mobility issues, or those who have some difficulties with vision or hearing, also benefit greatly from improvements made to accommodate people with disabilities. "We have not measured the impact yet," she says, "but we know it is great. We often get letters, emails, and calls thanking us for the large-print playbills, the curb-to-seat service, ramps, handrails, the availability of hearing devices, and the ability to request additional assistance by simply calling ahead!" Especially appreciated is the curb-to-seat service, in which staff bring a wheelchair to the door near the main entrance to take a patron directly to a seat in the theatre.

Additional Program Elements

"Patron needs, including the facility's accessibility, are a large part of our focus," says Siegel. "For instance, five of my eight volunteers do nothing else but work on Braille and large print programs, which is one of our most utilized service."

"But we are also concerned with representing the disability population onstage, sharing our knowledge and experience with other arts organizations, and offering internships in the arts to students with disabilities." To this end, the Kennedy Center has just begun a unique program of arts management internships for persons with developmental and/or cognitive disabilities. The three-year-old program, called Experimental Education Initiative, accepts three students per quarter who serve as interns in various areas of the Kennedy Center. Students gain exposure in many areas of arts administration, the finance office, the National Symphony library, and the Youth and Family Performance Office, among others.

The Center often partners with local and national community organizations who are focusing on the artistic ability of members. For instance, the Center has strong ties with the deaf community and during Deaf Way II last summer showcased the talents of deaf actors and artists.

Spreading the Success

Many arts centers throughout the country use the Kennedy Center's accessibility program as a model and a learning tool. States Siegel, "We are up front about our challenges and less than successful efforts too, so that others can avoid them without having to experience them!" Siegel's future goals are focused on how to best use the Kennedy program as such a model. Siegel notes that very few arts organizations have a staff person solely devoted to the work of accessibility. Three years ago, she founded a group where those who track accessibility as part of other duties can meet to exchange ideas, share resources, and she hopes, eventually formulate a professional network for those who work on accessibility issues in cultural arts institutions. By building this community of accessibility professionals, Siegel hopes to see accessibility management become a recognized aspect of arts administration. With the Kennedy Center's program at the lead, the way will be made easier for other centers to follow.

Going to the Kennedy Center?

If you have a disability and are thinking about attending a Kennedy Center performance, contact the Accessibility Program Office at (202) 416-8727 voice or (202) 416-8728 TTY, or email at: access@kennedy-center.org. To order tickets, you may call the 24-hour Instant-charge at (202) 467-4600, or the Customer Service Desk at (202) 416-8528 (10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily), where trained personnel can help with your request.

Regular patron services offered include:

Accessible tours
Audio-described performances and events
Assistive listening devices
Braille and large-print playbills (other materials upon request)
Captioned performances and events
Courtesy wheelchairs
Curb-to-seat service
Sign language interpreted performances and events
Specially priced tickets
Transportation and parking accommodations
Wheelchair access
Phone and email information services