Accessibility

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is committed to providing equal access to Free Shakespeare on the Common through its access and inclusion program.  Our staff is equipped to assist patrons of all abilities.  A limited number of tall chairs, accessible seating areas, and assisted listening devices, are available at each performance by visiting the Information Booth.

This page will be updated with current information as it becomes available per production. Anyone needing special accommodations is encouraged to contact CSC in advance at 617-426-0863 or email us at audienceservices@commshakes.org.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is a Universal Participation Initiative designated organization through the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

We are proud to participate in the Card to Culture program, a collaboration between Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, Massachusetts Health Connector, and Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, by breaking down financial barriers to cultural programming.

Our Services

• American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreted Performances
• Audio Described Performances
• Assisted Listening Devices
• Large Print and Braille Programs
• Open Captioning

Accessible Seating for wheelchairs or for those with mobility-related accommodations and their companions are reserved in several free seating locations around the Common.

Accessible seating is also available in CSC’s Friend Section for a minimum donation of $100.

Assisted Listening Devices are available at each performance. Visit the Information Booth to obtain equipment.

Accessibility Performances

Accessibility Performance dates for all of our performances can be found on the performance page for each production.

For Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’:

Sunday, Dec 15th at 2 PM (ASL-Interpreted and Audio Described)
Saturday, Dec 21st at 2 PM (Audio Described) and 7 PM (ASL-Interpreted)

Pre-Show Tactile Tours will take place December 15th and 21st at 1 PM. Please meet our team in the Lobby to start the tour.

All performances of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ will be open captioned.

For More Information About Access Seating, see Emerson Theatre’s Access Page

If you need assistance booking accessible seating or want more info on the booking process, please contact our Box Office at tickets@emersontheatres.org or 617-824-8400.

For any general questions, information, or feedback regarding your visit, please contact access@artsemerson.org and a representative will reach back out to you promptly.

Wayfinding Instructions for the Emerson Cutler Majestic:

To enter the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre from Tremont Street, pass through the pair of double glass doors on the far right and come into the carpeted lobby. To your immediate right, there are three box office windows.

On the immediate left of the entrance doors is the cart where you can pick up audio description equipment. Across from that cart, at the center of the inner lobby wall, there’s a downward-sloping passage leading to the orchestra seating section. Ushers are stationed here and will be for the duration of the performance. There’s a flight of broad carpeted stairs on either side of the orchestra entrance, leading to the mezzanine.

If you go beyond the staircase on the left, you’ll find a concession stand that sells candy, water, and snacks. A wood-paneled wall is on the left of that stand. If you turn right at the well, then left, you’ll find an elevator and stairs that lead down to the restrooms. There’s also another concession stand here, in front of and just to the right of the stairs. There are two gender-neutral bathrooms. You’ll find one if you walk straight ahead at the bottom of the stairs, down a short hall to your right. To find the other, turn right at the bottom of the stairs, go straight, and turn left at the end of the concession stand’s bar.

Let’s go back to the main lobby. It’s a beautifully decorated space, with veneered red marble walls and columns. There are gilded moldings and sculpted images of cherubs, medallions and flowers all along the top of the lobby walls. In the ceiling arches, there are paintings of frolicking nymphs and cherubs, painted by Willam de Leftwich Dodge, an American muralist who also created the ceiling murals in the Thomas Jefferson building of the Library of Congress.

Let’s talk about the house. To enter the theater, there are left and right doors. Both will lead you down an open hallway on either side of the upper orchestra seating area. These end in a wide central aisle that is parallel to the stage. The aisle divides the gently raked seating into upper and lower sections, each with about 250 seats. Emergency Exits are also located at either end of this aisle, and ushers are standing by there as well.

Below information is for The Winter’s Tale, and is shown below for reference. More info for Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ is forthcoming.

Information about pre-show description:
Please arrive at the theater half an hour before the official curtain time to hear the pre-show audio description.  Pre-show descriptions are packed with details which describers don’t have time to explain once the curtain goes up.  These details include descriptions of sets, props, characters, the actors playing them, and their costumes.  They can also establish a shorthand vocabulary for what describers will call certain characters or areas of the set and will explain the stylistic conventions of the show.  In short, pre-show descriptions can greatly enhance the audio description user’s experience of live theater.

Audio Description of Boston Common and Wayfinding Description:

Full Pre-Show Audio Description:

About the Show – The Winter’s Tale:

The Set- Audio Description:

Audio Meet the Cast:

Parking

Accessible parking is available at the Boston Common Garage.

MBTA

The Park Street MBTA Station (Red Line/Green Line) has an elevator up to street level.

Restrooms

There is an accessible restroom to the back-left of the stage and near the tennis courts.

Videos

Click below to view a video about transportation options

Wayfinding Description

From a bird’s-eye view, Boston Common is a 5-sided park, with a spider web of pathways extending from the Parkman Bandstand just below its center. Its five sides are:

• Beacon Street, along the top, which meets Park Street at the Massachusetts State House in the top-right corner.
• Park Street is the shortest side, and runs at a slight outward angle to the right, ending at Park Street T Station.
• From here, Tremont Street cuts downward and slightly to the left, to the Boylston Street T Station, near the AMC movie theatre.
• Boylston Street itself runs along the bottom of the Common…
• meeting up with Charles Street, which runs back upward and slightly to the left, to meet Beacon Street and complete the outline.

Shakespeare on the Common is presented near the Parkman Bandstand, a stately circular structure with tall pillars and a domed roof. If you think of this area as a clock, the bandstand is behind you at 6:00, the stage is at 12:00, and audience seating fills the whole clock FACE and is bisected by a pathway. Park Street and Park Street Station are off in the distance, beyond 3:00, while the Front of House Trailer is at about 11:00. This is where you can pick up your audio description receivers and headsets.

Seats above the bisecting path (closer to the stage and Beacon Street beyond) are cordoned off and filled with lawn chairs. Seating for folks using access services has been reserved at the center of this section, in front of the stage.

Open, public seating begins below the path and extends out in all directions. People sit on blankets and lawn chairs, many enjoying picnics. The Earl of Sandwich kiosk is at 9:00, while Port-a-potties are directly behind the bandstand, near the tennis courts (again at 8:00).

The audio description broadcasting tent, where we describers are sitting, is just in front of the bandstand, at about 12:00.

For Locations of our Merch Booth, Front of House Booth, and Stage, see this Google Map.