Art Court Theatre

"Last night we attended a production of Eurydice being held by the city college. We had called beforehand, and attempted to use the website to request an interpreter or accessibility device for our friend who is completely deaf. The blocking of the actors on the 180° stage makes it impossible for them to lip read all the time, so instead, they sat close to the actors and discreetly used a closed captioning app on their phone (in dark mode) to attempt to translate what was being said so that they could enjoy the production as well. During the first break, the lecturer for the production approached my deaf friend and asked if they were recording. They responded they were not, and explained they needed to sit close to be able to have their microphone pick up the voices of the actors (I was reading the captions over their shoulder, and noticed that frequently it was incorrect). The lecturer asked for them to move to the back, instead of on the floor where there were chairs available to sit. They continued to try to explain to the lecturer that for them to be able to understand the production, they would need to remain seated where they were. At this point, my friend left, realizing that the lecturer was not going to understand their situation. I approached to speak with her, and was met with the same "You need to listen to me" attitude that she gave us. We attempted to explain, and she shot us down every time. At this point, another woman in the crowd began to yell that my friend was "ruining it for everyone" by having to have their phone out to understand the play. She refused to stop yelling, and the lecturer sided with her and asked for us to leave. There are signs in the lobby that say there are auditory accessibility devices available. The individual who accepted our tickets told us that there was no way we could have called them to request a device, since everything is done on the website. We reached out on 10/10/23 to the college and were able to get the voicemail of the theatre department where we left a message asking for accessibility assistance. Additionally there is no information on the theatre or city college website to request these accessibility services. I am shocked and appalled at how my deaf friend was treated. This college is known by the deaf community for their classes, and I hope that they see this. Sorry to the audience and students who had to deal with that, but I won't stand by while bigots get to ruin experiences for the rest of us."

"Great place to watch local theater. Comfortable and lots of good seats"

"Plays here include a Panto at Christmas. Shakespeare in the summer, and a variety of other works the rest of the year. Sacramento City Theater does a great job and is also more affordable than some theaters. I've been watching their great performances for over three decades!"

"Great theater I highly recommended."