As part of our commitment to making the arts accessible to all children and families, Chicago Children’s Theatre offers a variety of accessible performances for each of our season’s mainstage productions.
2025-2026 Access Performances
Note: For patrons wishing to request ASL Interpretation and/or Open Captions for a performance, please email boxoffice@chicagochildrenstheatre.org with no less than 3 weeks notice before your desired performance to request these services.
Sensory Friendly Performances
Tailored specifically for guests on the autism spectrum or with other sensory sensitivities, we offer performances with sensory modifications to production elements such as:
- lowering the overall levels of lighting and sound
- keeping the lights on above the audience for ease of movement and exit
- providing sensory tools like headphones, sunglasses, and fidgets
- adjusting excessively loud or startling moments of the actors’ performance
- giving guests warning when a scary or startling moment of the show is coming up by holding up a glowstick**
Audience members are welcome to move about in their seating area and to vocally respond to the show, and to take breaks from these performances in a quiet break area. Most importantly, these performances are designated as a safe and welcoming environment so that everyone can experience the show in their own unique way.
Learn more about The Red Kite Project, our accessible arts programming for youth on the autism spectrum and other neurodivergent learners.
Open Captioning
Open captions containing the dialogue and all sounds heard in the show will be displayed in text on a large screen visible to the audience. This service accommodates audience members who benefit from reading along with the action, including Deaf or hard of hearing audiences, as well as hearing audience members with auditory processing challenges.
Services can be requested with 3 weeks notice upon completion of ticket purchase.
ASL Interpreting
These performances offer Deaf and hard of hearing audience members an experience where all dialogue and lyrics are interpreted by licensed American Sign Language interpreters during the show. Chicago Children’s Theatre frequently works with Certified Deaf Interpreters (CDIs) to promote accuracy in interpreting and appropriate representation for Deaf audiences.
Services can be requested with 3 weeks notice upon completion of ticket purchase.
Touch Tours & Audio Description
For guests who are blind or have low vision, we offer guided pre-show touch tours of the production’s props, scenery, puppets, and costumes. Guests will also have a chance to listen to the performers describe their characters and appearance. During the show, audience members listen through an earpiece to an Audio Describer, who provides in-depth descriptions of performer characterizations, actions, and staging.
Please email boxoffice@chicagochildrenstheatre.org with no less than 3 weeks notice before the scheduled AD performance to request these services.