Accessibility

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Athens Theatre welcomes all of our patrons, and considers it very important to provide quality, professional, equitable, and accessible service to everyone–including people with disabilities. This page provides about our current accessibility offerings. The first sections include general information, contact and operating hours, our physical address, location of our box office and the entrance to our building, information related to drop-off locations for Votran or other rideshare services, accessible parking, restrooms, and concessions. The following sections include information about our accessibility services pertaining to vision, service animals, hearing, mobility, and our website.

CONTACT INFORMATION AND OPERATING HOURS

For general questions about the Athens Theatre, please call our box office at 386-736-1500 extension 1. Operating hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 1:00pm to 5:00pm, and one and a half hours preceding any scheduled performance. Messages are retrieved daily and return calls are made in the order in which they were received. The box office can also be contacted via email at BoxOffice@AthensDeLand.com.

If you have questions/concerns about our theatre’s accessibility or need assistance purchasing tickets for an ASL/English interpreted show, and audio described performance, or interest in reserving an audio description or hearing assisted device, please contact our Accessibility Officer/Assistant Box Office Manager Kay Phillips at Kay@AthensDeLand.com or by calling 386-736-1500 ext. 1009.

PHYSICAL ADDRESS

124 N. Florida Ave., DeLand, FL 32720

The historic Athens Theatre is located in downtown DeLand, Florida within walking distance of numerous restaurants, eateries, shops, and more.

RIDE SHARE, ACCESS VOTRAN GOLD DROPOFF LOCATION

If you will be using a rideshare service, the closest drop-off location is directly in front of the theatre at 124 N. Florida Ave. For the driver’s information, the building is two-story, brick, with an overhanging theatre marquee that usually includes the current or upcoming show.

There are appropriate curb cuts for patrons using wheelchairs near a handicapped parking space to the right of the theatre. To access the handicapped parking spaces, drivers must go around the corner on Rich Ave. to access the entrance to this Volusia County parking lot.

Before attending a performance where you will be using a ride share service, please inquire with the box office to be sure there are no special events that would prevent your driver from delivering you to the front entrance of the building. If there are, we will suggest alternative drop off locations depending on your specific disability and the extent of the street closures.

Votran Gold Service offers door to door transportation. Service requires prior application. For more information on this service, call (386) 943-7050 or click HERE.

BOX OFFICE AND ENTRANCE

Upon arriving, the box office can be found in the front center of the theatre. The main entrance is located to the left and right of the box office, at the center of the building. Soon after entering, the floor has a slight incline.

HANDICAPPED PARKING

If you plan to park a car, there are a two handicapped parking spaces near the entrance to the theatre. To access the these parking spaces, drivers must go around the corner on Rich Ave. to access the entrance to this Volusia County parking lot.

If the parking lot spaces are taken, the next best option is on the street (heading North) just past the theatre and before the intersection at Rich Ave.

LOBBY, CONCESSIONS, AND RESTROOMS

Once you’re inside the building and are in the lobby, the concession stand is immediately located in-between the main entrance doors. The floor has a slight incline. The Women’s Restroom is located at the top of this incline and to the right of the lobby, while the Men’s Restroom is at the top of the incline and to the left of the lobby. Opposite both of these restroom doors are the entrances to the theatre house where an usher will escort patrons to their ticketed seats.

As the Athens Theatre is a century old, historic building, there are no elevators. For actors or other individuals that enter the theatre through the Stage Door, there are wheelchair lifts available to make the basement dressing rooms and the front of house accessible from the stage.

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VISION

ACCESSIBLE PLAYBILLS

Large print playbills are available upon request. Digital playbills in pdf format for use with text to speech apps are available upon request and can be emailed in advance.

AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCES

In partnership with Central Florida’s Audio Description Initiative, audio description is available for select performances throughout the season allowing audience members who are blind or have low vision to enjoy live performing arts.

Using a headset connected to a receiver, patrons can listen throughout the performance as trained audio describers provide live, verbal descriptions of actions, costumes, scenery, and other visual elements of a performance. Audio describers start pre-show notes approximately 15 minutes before the performance begins.

Our audio described performances include touch tours which allow our blind and low vision patrons the opportunity to feel an array of props and set pieces prior to the show to get a better mental image or close-up look of many elements included within the production.

A limited number of audio description receivers are available per performance, and we recommend reserving one at the time of ticket purchase by contacting Kay at kay@athensdeland.com or by calling 386-736-1500 ext. 1009. Response time is usually less than one business day.

SERVICE ANIMALS

If you are attending a performance with your service animal, please let the Box Office know in advance to ensure you are seated in an area that will be most comfortable for you and your animal. By law, the service animal must be under the control of its handler at all times. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines service animals as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.”

The Athens Theatre is unable to welcome Emotional Support Animals or other animals that do not meet the criteria set forth by the ADA. Only service animals are permitted inside the Athens Theatre.

Please click here to review ADA law regarding service animals.

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HEARING

HEARING LOOP ASSISTIVE LISTENING

A Hearing Loop has been installed and is available to hearing aids with an enabled T-Coil

Frequently asked questions about Hearing Loop Systems:

How do Hearing loop systems work? Quality Sound: A hearing loop sends sound directly to the telecoil receiver in a user’s hearing device. The system eliminates most background noise and greatly improves understanding of speech and music. Additionally, the sound received is customized by each user’s unique hearing instrument.
How do I know if my hearing aid has a telecoil? Contact your Audiologist to determine if your hearing aids have t-coils built in. The Audiologist can activate the t-coil to turn on manually when you select a specified setting (or program) on your hearing aid, or automatically, when a telecoil signal is detected.
How do you connect a hearing aid to a hearing loop? If your hearing aids have a telecoil, you can turn it on via a remote controller or a program button on the hearing aid. It then connects to the hearing loop system. Switch your hearing aid to ‘T,’ either via the switch on your aid, or through a ‘T’ program accessible via a program button or remote control.
Can a telecoil be added to a hearing aid? The telecoil is a small induction pick-up coil which can be placed inside a hearing aid. The telecoil is also known as a T-coil, or T-switch. When activated, the telecoil permits coupling of the personal hearing aid to sources of electromagnetic energy including a telephone and assistive listening devices and systems.

ASSISTED LISTENING

For patrons who do not have a hearing aid that is compatible with hearing loops systems, assisted listening devices are available upon arrival to the event. Please request a device from the theatre’s front-of-house manager. Limited devices are available and are first come, first serve.

ASL-INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES

In partnership with NC Interpreting, The Athens Theatre will present ASL/English-interpreted performances throughout each season.

When looking at the stage, the interpreters will be located in front of the stage on the far left.

To purchase tickets in the section with the best sight lines to the Interpreters, please contact the box office either at 386-736-1500 or email us at boxoffice@athensdeland.com.

MOBILITY

The Athens Theatre has sloped floors entering the building from N Florida Ave. and in the theatre space itself, with lighted aisles. Removable seats and wheelchair designated spaces are available. These seats are available for purchase only through the box office. To purchase these tickets, please call the box office either at 386-736-1500 or email us at boxoffice@athensdeland.com. Patrons with walkers will be escorted to their seats by an usher, with the usher securing the walker during the show. Ushers will also secure wheelchairs for those patrons who transfer into one of the theatre seats.

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