ACCESSIBILITY
The Freewill Shakespeare Festival strives to improve accessibility and create a welcoming and safe environment for all artists, audiences, volunteers, and staff.
Read below for more information about specific accessibility measures available for this year. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email dev@freewillshakespeare.com.
How to Navigate the Page
Thank you for visiting our Accessibility page. There is a lot of details on this page so we have separated the information into smaller sections.
Using the circle menu, hover over each to see what the main topic is. If you want to go to that section, click on the name. If you'd like to read through the page as it is laid out, please continue scrolling down.
General Information
The Heritage Amphitheatre is located near the middle of Hawrelak Park, which is in the Edmonton River Valley and surrounded by hills. We are located under the large white tent and surrounded by paved pathways leading up the hill to the Amphitheatre entrance.
Hawrelak Park has recently been renovated and as such, we are still learning some details about the access and design of the park and amphitheatre space.
Curb cuts can be found on all sidewalks around the festival and there are no stairs required to access the theatre space. As the Amphitheatre is located in the centre of the Park, it is a very long distance from every parking lot in Hawrelak Park. We recommend allowing for more time than you think to access the main entrance.
We are in the process of improving and implementing better Accessibility measures for our shows and the Freewill Shakespeare Festival in general. Due to the constantly evolving nature of the production process, a show-specific access guide will not be available until after the production has opened. We will post it as soon as possible.
Service Animals
Service Animals are welcome at the Freewill Shakespeare Festival. We recommend the Accessible Seating section to the left of the audience to provide a more enclosed space for you and your animal or the front row to allow for your animal to rest comfortably in front of you. Due to actors' use of the aisles and requirements for emergencies, we do not want anything blocking the aisles. As well, due to the additional movement of performers, we do not want to cause undo stress to your animal.
Accessing the Amphitheatre
If you cannot walk the distance from a parking lot and have a driver with you, there is a driveable path up to the main gate available for drop off. There is no general parking closer to the entrance of the theatre. After entering the park, keep straight for a little while and then turn left as you reach the main parking lot. On the right hand side of the parking lot, at the second path entrance, there is a paved pathway wide enough for vehicles to access and drive up.
If you are walking, there is a paved walkway from the main parking lot up to the Amphitheatre. Please note, it can be a bit slippery when wet. As you arrive, veer off to the left and up the hill to the large pair of wooden gates. Before the house is open, we ask that you wait outside the gates. There are several spots with seats available to rest. If you cannot stand for long periods of time, we recommend arriving closer to half an hour prior to the show or bringing along a lawn chair to sit on while you wait as we cannot guarantee seating before the theatre is available.
Due to the size of the park, the closest public transit stop is still a 15+ minute walk to the Amphitheatre, so if you struggle walking long distances, we do recommend coordinating a drop-off/carpool to prevent overexhaustion.
Accessing the Seats
When the gates open you will have access to a paved lobby space. If you arrive early, our volunteers and staff may prevent access to the theatre seating until allowed by our stage management team. There are several benches available to sit at and there is access to our concession, bar, and merchandise at that time.
When you are allowed into the theatre, there are three options available for accessing the seating area.
The first option is to go to the left, where there is a gentle graded ramp all the way to the theatre space. As you turn to the right to access the seating, there is a drainage grate that does make the path a little uneven so we recommend taking this section carefully. At night, lights will illuminate this path.
The second option is to go off to the right, where there is a set of 12 stairs, grouped in sections of 3 with a landing in between. The stair tread is 14” deep with a 6” height. The railings are 36” high and are on both sides of the stairs. There are no railings on the landings between the steps. At night, lights will illuminate this path.
The third option is to walk on the grassed hill area. The grass is stepped, so we recommend being careful while moving around this area. This option is not recommended if you struggle with coordination or vision as there is no additional lighting on the grass area.
Seating
There are several seating options available at the Heritage Amphitheatre. If you are in a wheelchair or have a mobility device with you, there is a section of seats in the Centre Left section, Row P. These are reserved for your use and are level with the end of the ramp. There are permanent companion seats interspersed with gaps in this section.
The permanent seating is separated into five large sections. There are variable sizes among the seats ranging from 19.5”-21” from armrest to armrest, 17.5”-18.5” in overall seat width, and 15.5”-16” for depth of seat.
If you are looking for wider seats, we recommend viewing the seats as a performer would by standing in front of the front row and looking at all the seats in a section, as looking at the seats from an angle can be deceiving. A general rule of thumb is that the smaller seats are typically the aisle seats.
Due to entrances and exits by our performers into the audience, and for safety in case of an emergency, we require our aisles to be clear. If you do not wish to sit in the reserved area but have a mobility device that cannot be placed within your seating area, please talk with our staff and we can store the device elsewhere and bring it to you at intermission and again after the show.
If you’d like additional leg room, we’d recommend the front row of any section or Row Q of the Centre Left and Centre Right sections.
The arm rest into the aisle seats can move up on the following seats:
Left: Q1 and Q21
Centre Left: B1 and B10
Centre: Q1 and Q20
Centre Right: B1 and B10
Right: Q1 and Q21
If you require additional time to access the seats, email us at info@freewillshakespeare.com or speak to our staff when you arrive and we can provide assistance.
Below is a seating map provided by the City of Edmonton. The chairs labelled AA-EE have been removed.
Hearing Loop (T-Coil)
The Heritage Amphitheatre is equipped with a hearing loop system (T-Coil Loop) for patrons with hearing loss. These loops transmit directly to a hearing aid or cochlear implant electromagnetically, with no extra equipment. To use the system:
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If you have not already, ask your hearing aid provider to confirm you have T-Coil function or to activate the function.
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When you arrive at the venue, sit in the T-Coil accessible seating area. The section is the back 5 rows of the Centre Left, Centre, and Centre Right sections (Row K-P/Q). We will also inform volunteers of these locations to assist in directing you.
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Switch your hearing aid or hearing device to the T-Coil setting and adjust the volume as needed.
Below is a map provided by the City of Edmonton with a dotted line indicating the section of seats allocated with T-Coil function.
Washrooms
The newly renovated washrooms are gender neutral and barrier free. They have 36 wall-to-ceiling individual locking stalls. In the middle of the washroom are the sinks, a water fountain, and water bottle refill station. Please note: The washroom can become quite echoey so we recommend if you want a quieter experience to go at times other than intermission or just after the show has ended.
The wider entrance into the washroom is along the right wall. The individual stalls are small, so if you need more space, we recommend using the larger wheelchair accessible stalls.
There are two wheelchair accessible washroom stalls with both a mid-height and floor-height press button. The door swings inward. The stalls include individual sinks and grab bars beside the toilet. These stalls also include changing tables.
The sinks are 34.5” off the ground and three locations include a lowerable step-up for children or those who cannot reach the sinks.
Community Tent
This tent is located at the top of the hill and to the left as you enter. It is labeled on the outside as “Community Tent.” Inside the tent are some fidgets available for your use during the performance, and a space you can access at any time if you need some shade or somewhere a bit away from the crowds. This tent also includes access to our First Aid if you need additional assistance. We will also have a printed copy of the Character Look Book available inside, when it is available.
Breastfeeding is allowed on site, but if you’d like more privacy, the Volunteer and Community tents are available for your use.
Parking & Public Transportation
We are performing in the Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park. The park is located in the Edmonton River Valley and surrounded by hills.
There is one main parking lot and several smaller parking lots on the ring road through Hawrelak Park. There are 16 placard parking stalls and 2 electronic vehicle charging stations in the main parking lot. All the parking lots are currently free parking.
Please note: it is a long walk from any of the parking lots in Hawrelak Park and up to the Amphitheatre. Please add more time than you think to walk up to the theatre space.
Additional information about transit and parking can be found on the Your Visit page.
Visit the ETS website for further information and schedules.
Relaxed Performances & Show Info
Relaxed Performances offer an accessible option to audience members who may benefit from a more relaxed environment in the theatre or those who may not normally feel comfortable attending live performances. Though we do not have allocated Relaxed Performances with the Festival, we freely invite audiences to use the paved ‘lobby’ space as the top of the hill, or areas of the grass around the amphitheatre to move and get up for self-care or regulation of emotions.
For families with children, we recommend the grassy hill area for allowing children to move around more freely and for softer ground to move around on.
Due to the size of the Amphitheatre, there is often space available to switch or change seats, though we recommend checking the aisles before moving to ensure performers are not coming down the aisles at the same time.
The “Community Tent” at the top of the hill is available at any time if you need a break from the performance or the crowd or need to get out of the sun. If you’re ever unsure of where to go, a staff or volunteer person can direct you.
As we are outdoors in the summer, the majority of the show will be lit by the setting sun and not completely dark until the end of the show.
SOMETHING ROTTEN! does include a live orchestra, which may not be sensory-friendly.
Certain elements of both productions (like sound effects and lighting) may be startling. More details about show specific elements like noises and sound effects will be available in the Audience Access Guide, which will be linked below when it is available.
Disclaimer
We are constantly trying to improve our accessibility information and details. If you have additional information you’d like us to include, questions you have, or request for the future, please reach out to dev@freewillshakespeare.com
Outside of our festival, we are a team made up of five staff who work to build this festival, and as such, do often not have capacity to build out accessibility accommodations to the level we desire. We are always here to learn and improve our processes, though we cannot promise speed in all of our integrations due to financial limitations and the size of our team. We appreciate your patience and feedback as we work to improve accessibility across all elements of our festival.