There are a number of ways to make your show accessible to blind and low vision audiences, including venue considerations, tactile tours and audio description. Whether you are interested in creating an accessible service for the blind and low vision community (e.g. Audio Description of an event)  or whether you would just like to take some easy  steps to ensure your event does the best it can  to engage with more potential audience members,  please read on for more info.

“Everyone who is blind and have low vision, we are all very different - in how we use our vision and how we use our technology and services.” - ****Maysa Abouzeid, Comedian and Melbourne Fringe Alumnus

Make Your Venue Easy To Find

Make sure transport options are clearly listed in marketing materials, including the correct address, location(s) of taxi drop off points (many people who are blind use taxis for transport), and public transport links. You might want to have a volunteer outside your venue to guide Blind or Low Vision audience members inside. If you decide to do so, e-mail audience members in advance to let them know that there will be a volunteer available.

Pre-Show Notes

Consider providing pre-show notes for the blind and low vision community via email prior to the event.

• Things you can describe include: set, costumes, the characters appearance and other visual elements of the show (for e.g. the performance space as a whole including the building/area it’s in, the seating bank, etc.)
• Collate these notes in a word document (not pdf) that audiences can access using screen reader software or text to voice apps. As an alternative, you could also record audio notes.
• If you have a printed programme, you may want to send it in advance to blind and low vision audience members, so that they have time to consume it through a screen reader. There are several options for sharing the programme to this audience:
  • a word doc with large-print (20 point sans-serif font) versions available at the event
  • a word doc with large-print (20 point sans-serif font) alongside an email with standard-print (14 point) sent via email - if you send via an attached word doc, it will be screen reader friendly
  • an email with an audio recording of the program as read aloud by one of the creatives (this is often an inviting way to share the feel of the work as delivered by a member of the team). This might include some visual descriptors of the space or set.

Tech Tip

Your notes should be in a plain text word document. Avoid tables and unnecessary formatting.

Tactile Tour / Touch Tour

Tactile tours allow patrons who are blind or have low vision to have a hands-on experience of the work.  A Tactile Tour doesn’t just mean the audience can physically touch parts of the set or feel the fabric of a costume – it is a guided, fully facilitated tour of all the important visual elements of an event prior to the experience of the event itself.

• Choose what you would like to have as part of the tour. A common tour would include a guided tour of the stage where people can touch the sets, props and costumes.
• Sometimes performers will take part in this, dressed in their costume – they describe themselves and introduce their characters, including any physical traits they have.
• Make sure the person who is leading the tour can answer any questions about the performance. A director, producer or stage manager would be ideal to lead the tour.
• While tactile tours are open to everyone, a 50:50 split between blind and sighted people makes a tactile tour worthwhile. Encourage everyone to participate in touching the art, not just blind people.
• If you have an audio-described event, it is best practice to include a Tactile Tour in the same performance, organised prior to the event.