Accessibility Cohort of Greater Philadelphia

08/06/2026

Up next are a few exciting events in August, including the Leadership Exchange in Arts & Disability 2026 Conference! Many members of the The Cohort are SO excited to be attending this year’s LEAD Conference right here in Philly! Be sure to follow along to see what we get up to, who we meet, and what exciting things we’ll learn!

Thanks for your patience through July, this summer got busy and got away from us a bit! Onward to an exciting August!



Image Description 1: Graphic with light blue background, The Cohort’s logo, text that reads “UPCOMING ACCESSIBLE EVENTS AUGUST 2026’, and logos for each of the events on the following slides.

Image Description 2: Graphic with 2 images/logos for events and the details. Image 1 and event 1 is for the Signers Hall Touch Tour at the National Constitution Center. The image reads ‘Signers’ Hall’ and shows the Hall with bronze statues. The text reads “Signers Hall Touch Tour, August 23, 9:00 AM, National Constitution Center; Walk alongside 42 life-size, bronze statues of the framers of the Constitution and relive the moment that launched a government ruled by “We the People.” Contact [email protected] and [email protected] ConstitutionCenter.org to reserve a spot. Image 2 and event 2 on this slide is for Ain’t Misbehavin’, a musical playing at People’s Light. The image is a collage of sheet music and writing that create the image of Fats Waller, the musician who wrote the music Ain’t Misbehavin’ focuses on. The text reads “Ain’t Misbehavin’, July 8 - August 16, People’s Light; August 11 - 16: Open Captioning , July 21 - August 16: WatchWord Live Caption Glasses, All Performances: Wheelchair accessible seating, Assisted Listening Devices, Large Print Programs, and Fidget Library; PeoplesLight.org

Image Description 3. Graphic with the logo for BlackStar Film Festival 2026, an electric blue and green logo with blocky capital letters that read ‘BlackStar Film Festival 2026 Celebrating 15 years of cinema for liberation’. The text below the logo reads ‘BlackStar Film Festival, August 6 - 9, Kimmel Center for the P

06/18/2026

In case you missed it, we had a fantastic day at Philadelphia Disability Pride disabilitypridepa! Thanks so much to Art-Reach Art-Reach for inviting us to join your table, to everyone from the Cohort who helped make this possible, and to everyone who stopped by to talk to us!



Video Descriptions:
Olivia, a white person with glasses, a baseball cap, and red tank top sits in her car talking to the camera.
Clips of City Hall, Love Park, and the Parkway lines with tents for Pride.
The table, a rectangle table covered in black tablecloths, one of which has ‘Art-Reach’ in white letters. On the table are many flyers, stickers, pens, fidget toys, signs, and a spinning prize wheel for visitors.
Simon, the Cohort’s Chairperson, a white person with a teal shirt, sunglasses, and a white cane poses with a man dressed as Ben Franklin.
Simon and Olivia stand behind the table and talk to the camera. The camera pans down across the table to showcase the info and goodies.

06/10/2026

The Cohort will be at Disability Pride on Saturday! We will be tabling with Art-Reach, come visit us and check out all of the festivities! Learn more about the festival at DisabilityPridePA.org/Philadelphia

Image Description: A poster with a light blue background with rounded orange box. At the top above the box is the ACGP Logo. Inside the box is the text “VISIT US AT DISABILITY PRIDE! Saturday, June 13, 12 - 4 PM. Above the Disability Pride PA logo and a bullet point list of attractions at the festival. The list includes Parade, DJ, Food Trucks, Resources, Face Painting, Caricature Artists, Airbrush Tattoos, Outdoor Games.

05/29/2026

June is just around the corner and it’s bringing you some awesome accessible theatre! Which ones are you going to catch? Let us know! 🩵



Image Descriptions:
Slide 1 is a collage of the posters and show art for the advertised productions around a light blue box with the Cohort logo and the text ‘Upcoming Accessible Events June 2026’.
Slides 2-4 contain 2 show posters each and the accessible event information for each one as listed here:
Big Fish
May 29 - Jun 13
Players Club of Swarthmore
All Performances: Relaxed Performance materials, Know Before You Go Guide, ACCESS tickets
This production is on our Main Stage and is fully ADA accessible
PCSTheater.org

Dear Evan Hansen
May 21 - June 28
Arden Theatre Company
June 2 - 28: Smart Caption Glasses
Friday, June 12th, 7:00 PM, and Saturday, June 13th, 2:00 PM: Open Captioning, Audio Description (Provided by Nicole Sardella)
All Performances: Assistive listening devices; Large print programs; Sensory tools, including show specific narrative
ArdenTheatre.org

The Outsiders
May 26- June 7
Academy of Music, Ensemble Arts Broadway Series
Friday, June 5, 7:30 PM: Audio Description (Provided by Nicole Sardella), ASL Interpretation, (Provided by Hands Up Productions)
Saturday, June 6, 1:30 PM: Open Captioning
EnsembleArtsPhilly.org

The Shark is Broken
June 4 - 28
Montgomery Theater
Thursday, June 11th, 7:30 PM: Relaxed Performance
June 18-21: Open Captioning
Thursday, June 18th, 7:30 PM: Audio Description and Sensory Tour (Provided by Nicole Sardella)
All Performances: Wheelchair Accessible; Accessible parking; Assistive Listening Devices
MontgomeryTheater.org

(continued in comments)

05/18/2026

05/17/2026

We just wrapped up a fantastic Relaxed Performance of The Woman Question at People’s Light! Thanks to Hands UP Productions for their ASL Interpretation and Gina Pisasale for her Audio Description and Sensory Tour. Huge shoutouts to the cast and team behind this production and its Relaxed Performance!

Image Descriptions:
1. A group of people, some sighted, some Blind or Low Vision posing together after the Sensory Tour.
2. Gina guides Simon, a Sensory Tour participant’s, hand through the scale model of the set.
3. Gina poses for Natanya, a Sensory Tour participant, to feel how the cast will create a puppet out of a basket, gloves, and small coat.
4. A few members of the cast answer questions about the play interpreted by one of the ASL interpreters.

05/13/2026

04/28/2026

Check out this awesome article from The Inquirer about the Touch Tour at the National Constitution Center ! This photo features Simon Bonenfant, Chairperson of the Accessibility Cohort of Greater Philadelphia and Trish Maunder, member of the Cohort and creative director of Philly Touch Tours. The article can be found at https://www.inquirer.com/life/philly-touch-tours-signers-hall-constitution-center-blind-low-vision-exhibit-20260428.html?id=uAVk0FvkVK3zf&utm_source=social&utm_campaign=gift_link&utm_medium=referral
Image Description: Screenshots of the article. The first photo is of Simon, a Blind man with dark hair and a white cane, and Trish, a sighted woman with copper hair and glasses on her head. They stand in front of a wall at The Constitution Center that says “1787 Philadelphia”. The next photo is the article’s title, “Alexander Hamilton is
‘cocky. George Washington ‘owns the room. Blind and low-vision visitors decode 1787 using their hands in a new tactile tour.”

04/27/2026

There will be Audio Description on May 7 at 2:00 PM provided by Amanda Pasquini
and ASL Interpretation on May 7 at 7:30 PM!
Get you tickets now at Walnutstreettheatre.org

04/17/2026

Can you believe May is only 2 weeks away? There are lots of exciting events coming your way! Which ones are you adding to your calendar? 🌼

Image Description: Slide 1 is A collage of the logos and posters for the listed events surrounding the Cohort’s Logo and the text “Upcoming Events May 2026”. Slides 2-6 contain 1 poster/logo each and the details of each show’s accessible events as listed below.

Porgy and Bess
May 1 - 24
Ritz Theatre Co
Open Captioning: May 9, 3:00 PM
All Performances: Assistive Listening Devices, Wheelchair accessible seating, 1st floor accessible restrooms, Service Animals welcome, accessible Gallery featuring local artists, Large Print Programs (with two-week notice)
RitzTheatreCo.org

Mrs. Christie
May 6 - 31
McCarter Theatre Center, Berlind Theatre
ASL Interpretation: May 16, 2:00 PM (Provided By Allwyn Baskin, Meg Ellis, Lizette Ortiz)
Audio Description: May 17, 2:00 PM (Provided By Janet Dickson)
Open Captioning: May 17, 2:00 PM (Provided By c2)
All Performances: Assistive Listening Devices (t-coil compatible), Free-standing chairs (upon request when purchasing), ​Braille and Large Print programs (with two-week notice)
mccarter.org

The Woman Question
May 6 - 24
People’s Light
May 17, 2:00 PM: Relaxed Performance, Audio Description and Sensory Tour (Provided By Gina Pisasale), ASL Interpretation (Provided By Hands Up Productions), Pre-Performance Guides
May 19 - 24: Open Captioning and WatchWord Live Caption Glasses
All Performances: Wheelchair accessible seating, Assisted Listening Devices, Large Print Programs, Fidget Library
peopleslight.org

The Black Clown
May 14 - 17
Opera Philadelphia
May 17, 2:00 PM: Audio Description (Provided By Nicole Sardella)
operaphila.org

The America Play
May 19 - 31
The Wilma Theater
May 27, 2:00 PM: Relaxed Performance
May 30, 7:00 PM and May 31, 2:00 PM: Open Captioning
May 31, 2:00 PM: Audio Description (Provided By Nicole Sardella)
wilmatheater.org

ArtsAndCulturePhilly