Live streaming ‘made all the difference’ for some disabled arts lovers

UNITED STATES – For Ms Mollie Gathro, live theatre was a once-a-year indulgence if the stars aligned perfectly.

Ms Gathro has degenerative disc disease and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, resulting in joint pain, weakness and loss of mobility. Because of her disabilities, going to a show meant having to secure accessible seating after hours-long phone calls with her “nemesis”, Ticketmaster; finding a friend to drive her or arranging other transport; and hoping her body would cooperate enough for her to actually go out.

But when live performance was brought to a halt three years ago by the Covid-19 pandemic, and presenters turned to online streaming in an effort to keep reaching audiences, the playing field was suddenly levelled for arts lovers like her.

From her home in West Springfield, Massachusetts, Ms Gathro suddenly had access to the same offerings as everyone else, watching streams of Gore Vidal’s drama The Best Man and alternative rock band Guster’s concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.

For a while, everything was online: performances by the Berlin State Opera or Philadelphia Orchestra; dances by choreographers like Alonzo King and a New York City Ballet Spring Gala directed by Sofia Coppola; blockbuster movies that were released to streaming services at the same time they hit multiplexes.

Even the latest instalment of Richard Nelson’s acclaimed cycle of plays about the Apple family for the Public Theater in New York was streamed live.

“I was overjoyed, but there was also this tentative feeling, like waiting for the other shoe to drop, because they could take the accessibility away just as easily as they gave it,” said Ms Gathro, 35, “which feels like is exactly what is happening”.

With live performance now back, and some theatres and concert halls still struggling to bring back audiences, presenters have cut back on their streamed offerings, leaving many people with disabilities and chronic illnesses excluded again.

“Live streaming opened up the door and showed us what is possible,” said Ms Celia Hughes, executive director of Art Spark Texas, a non-profit that aims to make the arts more inclusive and accessible. The door, she said, has begun to close again.

Dr Aimi Hamraie,​​ an associate professor of medicine, health and society at Vanderbilt University who studies disability access, said decisions to cut back on streaming options “were not made with disabled people in mind”.

“We’ve been shown that there are tools to create more accessible exhibitions and performances, so people can no longer say it’s not possible,” Prof Hamraie said. “We all know that that’s not true.”

One in four adults in the United States has some form of disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But more than three decades after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act made it illegal to discriminate based on disability, advocates say it remains difficult for many disabled people to navigate arts venues. Gilded old theatres often have narrow aisles, cramped rows and stairs, while sleek modern spaces can be off the beaten path or feature temporary seating on risers.

For sure, there are far more streaming options available now. The San Francisco Opera has been live-streaming all of its productions this season, and in March, the Paris Opera announced new streaming options.

Second Stage Theater simulcast the last two weeks of its Broadway run of Between Riverside And Crazy, and Circle Jerk, a Zoom play that became a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for drama, returned for a hybrid run last summer for both live and streaming audiences.

The Cleveland Orchestra has joined the growing number of classical ensembles streaming select performances. The 2023 Sundance Film Festival was held not only in person in Park City, Utah, but also online.

But venues and producers have cut back on streaming for a number of reasons: the costs associated with equipment and the work required to film performances, contracts that call for paying artists and rights holders more money for streams, and fears that streams could provide more incentive for people to stay home rather than attend in person.

Arts lovers with disabilities are feeling the loss.

“It made all the difference because I felt like during the pandemic, I was allowed to be part of the world again, and then I just lost it,” said film-maker Dom Evans. The 42-year-old, who is hard of hearing and has spinal muscular atrophy, among other disabilities, is a co-creator of FilmDis, a group that monitors disability representation in the media.

More venues are providing programming specifically for people with disabilities and their families. For example, Moments, at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, is geared towards people with dementia and their caregivers.

“Our main goal is that everyone has a choice, everyone can get access to what they want, in ways that work best for them,” said Ms Miranda Hoffner, associate director of accessibility at Lincoln Center.

These types of programmes have been welcomed. But others say that presenters must do more to make all of their programming accessible.

“We need arts programmes that are fully integrated,” Mr Evans said.

“It’s easy to feel just like you’re further and further behind, and not only forgotten, but just completely disregarded,” said freelance artist and writer Han Olliver, 26, who has multiple chronic illnesses and would like more access to the arts. “And that’s really lonely.”

Ms Gathro continues to take advantage of streaming options when she can from her home. But she hopes that more presenters will stream their work in the future.

“I wish I always had options for live streaming, for really everything,” Ms Gathro said. “For me, it’s worth paying as much as I would pay to see it in person. The accessibility is just that much more helpful.” NYTIMES