CCT Announces Sensory Friendly Performances

Columbus Children's Theatre (CCT) has announced the 3rd season of the Sensory Friendly Performances starting with The Princess and the Pea, Sunday, January 12, 2014, Hansel and Gretel, Sunday, April 24, 2014, and The Frog Prince, Sunday, June 8, 2014 at the Columbus Children's Theatre located at 512 Park Street, Columbus, OH.

This year Nationwide Children's Hospital, Autism Speaks/Autism Treatment Network, Autism Society of Central Ohio, COSI, Living Beyond Autism, KidsLinked.com, VSA, and NBC4 will join forces with CCT to provide both children and families with sensory needs with a rewarding experience. "The Columbus Children's Theatre is working to ensure that children with autism and their families have the opportunity to experience the arts through three exciting sensory friendly performances. As the parent of a child with autism in central Ohio, it is exciting to see museums and theaters take these extra steps to ensure our children and our families have such opportunities. From providing autism training to their staff to offering materials in picture and word formats, the Columbus Children's Theater is another great example of how Columbus is a great place to raise a child on the spectrum", said Amy Hess, Vice President of Autism Society of Central Ohio.

Sensory Friendly Performances was created to meet the needs of children with autism or sensory sensitivity. Columbus Children's Theatre would like to provide families a safe and friendly environment for children where they feel accepted and not judged if they have outburst or need to move around during a performance. We believe that exposing children to theatre impacts the community because it builds compassion, understanding, and engagement.

"The sensory-friendly theatre experience goes beyond the performance itself" said CCT Education Director, Ryan Scarlata. "Simply adjusting lighting and sound is only a small portion of what goes into these performances. We've created a picture book families can download and use at home to walk their child through every aspect of the theatre-going experience. This shows the child exactly what to expect so they feel comfortable and ready to come see our performance". Sensory Friendly Performance Experience will include:

• Communication Cards for non-verbal guests
• Reduced sound levels
• Increased lighting for patrons to move around freely
• Limited seat sales to allow room for guests to move around
• Quiet Lobby area for breaks or arts/craft activities
• Permitted use of communication devices (iPads & smart phones) during performance
• Sensory Friendly Resource package for families, teachers and caregivers

A limited amount of tickets are on sale now for $13-$16 and available by phone only. For more information about our flexible refund policy, seat and other Sensory Friendly Performance elements, visit our website at www.ColumbusChildrensTheatre.org or call 614.224.6672.

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