Austin is a city for the arts. There is a reason we are called the “live music capital of the world.” Venues for all sorts of music exist all over town, but our thriving theater arts scene should not be overlooked either. Larger venues like The Long Center and Bass Concert Hall often offer traveling Broadway productions and schools like the University of Texas and St. Edwards and even the McCallum Fine Arts High School offer fantastic offering as well. Among the smaller theaters in Austin though is one of my favorites – Austin Playhouse.
This past 24/25 season was the first time I experienced their offerings since I became disabled and overall, I was impressed with both their theatrical offerings and their accessibility. While not exactly the most comfortably accessible location, their commitment to reaching out and working with me to meet my needs was very much appreciated.
While I wish I could afford season tickets to all their offerings, I was only able to make it to two productions this season – Arcadia in September and Fat Ham in June. Arcadia is one of my absolute favorite plays of all time, so it was one of the first activities that pushed me to try to get out and navigate the world with my disability.
Currently Austin Playhouse uses a space connected to University Baptist Church just off the University of Texas’ west campus at 22nd St and San Antonio St. (Note – to my knowledge they are not affiliated with the church, just use space there. But UBC is an open and welcoming space so there is no need to fear encountering prejudice in the space). Austin Playhouse is fundraising to build a larger dedicated building on Anderson Lane, which I look forward to, but for now they are in central Austin by UT. As with everything near campus, parking is crazy. On Guadalupe at the very front of the church there are 3 dedicated Handicapped parking spots, and then a few more about a block further south. These are parallel parking spots, and the ones further down have small loading zones alongside the spots. If you have a longer ramp or your ramp is at the rear of your car these are not the most accessible. There is metered street parking all around the area, but when school is in session it is nearly impossible to find a space. Austin Playhouse recommends parking at the University Co-op Parking Garage a block away at San Antonio and 23rd St. Fair warning – a handful of times I have used this garage there have been problems with the machine where you pay to exit causing delays and long lines in exiting the garage.
For my first time visiting with a disability, I reached out to inquire about accessibility before I bought tickets online. The response was quick and very helpful. You don’t select seats when you buy tickets, they are assigned first come first serve. The current theater set-up has a few rows of seats on floor level with some risers behind them. I was instructed to purchase the tickets I needed and then to contact them with the day and time of the performance I was attending, the ticket confirmation number, and the names of who was attending. I requested floor seating on the aisle since I wasn’t sure which mobility aid I would be using that particular day since it is variable for me.
For the Arcadia performance I used just my cane which ended up not being a great idea. I couldn’t find street parking, so I parked at the University Co-op Garage. While just a block away, it was still a bit of a long walk for me to get to the Playhouse building. While the Playhouse’s main entrance is off 22nd St., there are several staircases to navigate from it. The accessible entrance is around the side of the building off San Antonio St. There is a circle driveway that is available for drop-offs and attendants ready to open those doors for you. The elevator and the accessible restroom are just inside those doors on the first floor while the main theater is upstairs.
Once you arrive upstairs at the theater, you check in at the desk in the lobby where you are given a slip of paper with your assigned seats. There is usually a photo backdrop opportunity, a small side room with some concessions (waters, k-cup coffee, cookies…), and then the theater is situated just off the lobby.
When I attended with just my cane, the walk from the parking garage, getting inside and through the building, then standing waiting to get my tickets pushed my limits. I was exhausted by the time the play started, so when I returned in June to see Fat Ham I chose to use my wheelchair, and it was a much more doable endeavor. Since it was in summer with fewer students on campus, I managed to get one of the accessible spots in front of the church. My daughter was with me, and she can lift my chair out of the car so I didn’t need to use my ramp, otherwise I would have had to use the parking garage. We rolled/walked down Guadalupe (The Drag) to grab dinner before the play at Cava – which was an easy route with decent curb cuts and smooth sidewalks. Cava was easy to access throughout and had tables I could just roll up to. Granted most of the food offerings in the area are fast food places catering to college students, but Cava was a tasty option for Mediterranean food.
Both times I attended, I greatly appreciated the Playhouse staff being understanding of the variability of my disability. They reached out the day of the performance to inquire what sort of seating I needed for my mobility needs (so that a chair was either present or removed to accommodate my wheelchair). Both times my accessibility requests were accommodated, and I was sat on the aisle on the front row. The view from there was great and there was no neck strain at that vantage point.
The theater does use intense spotlights and made use of a fog machine in Fat Ham which may be an issue for some. There was a warning posted about the fog machine which was helpful, so I assume if there are other triggers like flashing lights warnings would be posted as well. I don’t have hearing difficulties, but to me the volume in the theater was adequate. At one point a character had sounds playing on his phone which was difficult to hear, but that was part of the story of the play.
A few accessibility items to mention. The elevator is spacious and easy to maneuver in with a wheelchair, but it is old and slow. The “accessible” restroom is not. At least in the women’s restroom, it required pushing in a heavy door, turning a quick corner then another quick turn to the accessible stall. The stall had rails but was not wide enough to get my wheelchair in to even get close to the rails to transfer. I had to dig out my cane to help me stand to get to the toilet and left my wheelchair outside the stall.
Then after some tight maneuvering, I tried to wash my hands and while I could sit sideways to use the sink I couldn’t reach the soap. I realize that it is an old church building that they have done their best to make accessible, but I hope that their new building has actually accessible restrooms.
All that said, Austin Playhouse is a treasure – producing thought provoking and entertaining plays. I am grateful for their commitment to try to be as accommodating as they can given the limitations of their space. What they are offering helped push me to start doing more things around Austin after I became disabled. I had so much fear of how to navigate spaces that I just didn’t go anywhere for such a long time. Their putting on my favorite play helped me start living again and trying to figure out how to meet my accessibility needs. I highly recommend attending performances there.
