The Playwrights’ Center is committed to creating more equitable and accessible spaces in person and online, where all feel welcome.

Everyone has a story to tell and we strive to give people the tools to tell it. Theater and culture are richer when new and diverse voices take center stage and the world is better when more people can experience those stories. 

We have made strides in creating equitable, accessible spaces and experiences but know there is still room for improvement. On the page below, we have listed what we currently offer, how we plan to improve, and our goal for completion of all accessibility improvements.

We want everyone to feel welcome at the Playwrights’ Center. If you find your accessibility needs aren’t addressed below, or if you have any other questions or comments, please connect with us at (612) 332-7481 x1134 or at jasminej@pwcenter.org.   

Online and Digital Events

Online Conversations and Readings

We offer live captioning on many of our online readings and live-streamed artist conversations through the Zoom platform. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom, read our helpful guide here.

We provide closed captioning on recorded seminars and artist conversations. You may access these videos at YouTube.com/pwcenter.

Online classes and seminars

With very rare exceptions, all of the classes and seminars we offer are available to join online. Some classes are online-only, and most have a mixture of in-person and online attendees. We use Zoom for our classes and seminars. If you are unfamiliar with Zoom, read our helpful guide here. We enable Zoom’s closed-captioning feature on all online classes and seminars.

In-Person / In Our Physical Space

Wheelchair and limited mobility access

Our building is wheelchair accessible. There is an accessible parking space in the lot behind our building (enter off of 23rd Avenue S). An elevator inside the entrance takes you down to the offices and rehearsal room or up to the theater auditorium. 

If you are attending a reading, please take the elevator up to the second floor. Upon exiting, continue through the auditorium to get to the box office in the lobby. For our public readings, an easily-identifiable staff member is stationed at the entrance closest to the parking lot to assist guests with the elevator, starting an hour before the reading time. At other times, call our front desk at (612) 332-7481 for assistance operating the elevator. 

Please note, we have limited space available in the Playwrights’ Center parking lot. A drop-off by the entrance may be needed.

Our auditorium space is a black box theater, all one level, with chairs on risers. There are always chairs on the floor level, requiring no steps. Wheelchair and companions seating locations are available upon request.

All of our restrooms are wheelchair-accessible.

Service animals

Service animals are welcome at the Center.

Low Vision or Blindness

For people with low vision or blindness, our readings offer a different experience than theater productions, in that they are unstaged, and most of the stage directions are read aloud.

At any reading or event that has a program, large print programs are also available at the box office. You do not need to request these in advance. If you would like the program text emailed to you, contact accessibility@pwcenter.org.

Actors and other artists working here: We are happy to provide you with large print scripts. If possible, please provide us with 24 hours notice.

For Member Open Play, there will always be a large print version of the script available for participants. 

Hearing loss

During the pandemic, we have stopped presenting live events. We are exploring the feasibility of offering captioning or sign interpreters during public readings in preparation for when it is safe for us to gather again. Closed-captioning is offered for online programming and recorded events.

Transportation

The Playwrights’ Center is accessible by bus and light rail.

Bus

Bus route 2 (high-frequency route). Nearest stops:

• Westbound: Franklin Ave E & 23rd Ave S
• Eastbound: Franklin Ave E & 24th Ave S

Bus route 67. Nearest stops:

• Westbound: Franklin Ave E & 23rd Ave S
• Eastbound: Franklin Ave E & 24th Ave S

Other bus routes that are close but require three to five blocks of walking: Route 9 / Route 22 / Route 7

Metro Mobility

Please note, due to the nature of our work in creating and developing new plays, the run time of an event may be unknown and may change between each reading. We encourage audience members to contact the Center at (612) 332-7481 to confirm the estimated running time when arranging for Metro Mobility pick-up.

Light Rail

Light rail blue line (a high-frequency route). Nearest station:

• Franklin Avenue Station

Restrooms

All of our restrooms are all-gender restrooms.

Economic Barriers

Valuing equity, the Playwrights’ Center works to remove actual and perceived barriers to participation. Here’s how:

• There is no application fee to apply for any of our fellowship opportunities. 

• All tickets to our public readings are free. There is no cost to attend. We also offer free refreshments during the reading.

• Many of our online seminars and artist conversations are free. Others are offered at a low or reduced cost.

• We offer reduced Membership rates and low-cost monthly payment plans. For more information, contact our Director of Membership Programs, Hannah Joyce, at hannahj@pwcenter.org or (612) 332-7481 x1123.

• We offer subsidized rates and scholarships on some university courses for eligible students.

Accessibility Statement for The Playwrights' Center website

The Playwrights' Center is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone and applying relevant accessibility standards. We acknowledge that in some areas on our site, there is room for improvement. We are currently in the process of developing a new site that will meet all WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines.

Measures to support accessibility on pwcenter.org

We believe in access for all, and as such, the Playwrights' Center takes the following measures to ensure accessibility of The Playwrights' Center website:

• Include accessibility throughout our internal policies and practices.

• Employ persons responsible for accessibility and regularly meet with an accessibility committee containing experts in the field of accessibility.

• Provide continual accessibility training for our staff.

• Assign clear accessibility targets and responsibilities.

• Employ formal accessibility quality assurance methods.

Conformance status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. The Playwrights' Center website is partially conformant with WCAG 2.0 level AA. Partially conformant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard. We are in the process of developing a new site that will fully comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Additional accessibility considerations:

Some legacy pages need improvement. WCAG 2.1 Level AA is met on newer pages.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of The Playwrights' Center website. While we strive to ensure access for all, we know that certain items may be missed. Please let us know if you do encounter any accessibility barriers on The Playwrights' Center website:

• Phone: 612-332-7481

• E-mail: accessibility@pwcenter.org

• Visitor address: 2301 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55406

• Postal address: 2301 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55406

We try to respond to feedback within 1-2 business days.

Technical specifications

Accessibility of The Playwrights' Center website relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

• HTML

• CSS

• JavaScript

These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used.

Limitations and alternatives

Despite our best efforts to ensure the accessibility of The Playwrights' Center website, there may be some limitations. Below is a description of known limitations, and potential solutions. Please contact us if you observe an issue not listed below.

Known limitations for The Playwrights' Center’s website:

1. Images on pwcenter.org: May have text alternatives that are missing, lacking, or can be more descriptive for screen readers. We are reviewing images and making improvements as needed. If you come across an image that does not include alternative text, please flag it for us by noting the page the image appears on and sending that page to info@pwcenter.org. Thank you for your assistance in helping create a more accessible, user-friendly website.
    

2. On URL links to other pages and sites: The link text contrast minimum is insufficient for some users. The current site was built when the industry standard of using the color blue on a white background to indicate a link. We are in the process of developing a new site that will address this contrast issue throughout the entire site.

Assessment approach

The Playwrights' Center assessed the accessibility of pwcenter.org by the following approaches:

• Self-evaluation through the use of SiteimproveⓇ Accessibility Checker

• Ongoing classes and evaluation based on industry best practices

• Feedback from members of Playwrights’ Center’s Accessibility Committee, composed of individuals with various accessibility needs and perspectives on the experience.

• Community reporting from pwcenter.org users

Questions

Contact us at (612) 332-7481, or accessibility@pwcenter.org with any questions or requests related to accessibility.