Sensory Friendly Performances
JASON MRAZ - SENSORY-FRIENDLY CONCERT Sunday, June 30, 2024 at 3P
GRAMMY-winning musician/songwriter Jason Mraz will perform a sensory-friendly/neuro-divergent concert at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) in the afternoon on Sunday, June 30 at 3P.
The Autism Project provides staff and volunteer training for PPAC’s sensory-friendly performances, so that all audience members can feel welcome and have a relaxed, comfortable experience at the theatre.
This sensory-friendly performance will include the following accommodations for audience members:
✸ lower sound levels in the theatre throughout the concert.
✸ Lights will be turned on at a low level.
✸ A reduction of strobe lighting or lighting focused on the audience.
✸ Audience members can bring comfort items into the concert (i.e. weighted blankets, fidgets, headphones, etc).
✸ Patrons are free to talk and leave their seats.
✸ Space throughout for standing and movement.
✸ Designated break areas adjacent to the theatre.
✸ The concert will be approximately 60 minutes.
This is a specially-priced event. If you are interested in attending this sensory-friendly concert, please call the PPAC Box Office at 401.421.ARTS (2787).
The Vanishing Elephant - SENSORY-FRIENDLY CONCERT Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 2P
This incredible story of resilience and friendship, inspired by true events, comes to life through large-scale puppetry, illusion, and magic.
Jenny, a young elephant, is born in the 1900s in Bengal, India and full of curiosity about the world around her. But one day her life changes dramatically when she is captured and separated from her family. She must learn the ways of humans, which is sometimes cruel and hard, but her friendship with a young boy called Opu carries her through this time.
When Jenny is sold to a circus in America, she must make the strange journey across the sea to a new world filled with many adventures, but she never stops thinking of home. She eventually meets the great Harry Houdini who plans to make her disappear from the stage of the Hippodrome, New York. Meanwhile, far away in India, her old friend Opu is now an old man and he recognizes his dear friend in a newspaper story. Despite ill health, he makes the same difficult journey to New York that Jenny once made. There on the stage, they meet again one last time, and together they are part of an amazing and moving magical vanishing.
This large-scale production premiered in NYC on October 14 2023, presented by the New Victory, and was declared a Critic's Pick by the New York Times - "This alluring spectacle..., which aims to dazzle audiences 8 and older, makes powerful statements about the rights of both animals and human beings."
More information and details to come!
Created By Brandi Dumas and John Fitzhenry
In partnership with The Autism Project, PPAC’s NEW Sensory-Friendly performances create a guest experience that is welcoming, judgement free, and inclusive of guests with a wide range of sensory, learning and physical differences. These performances are perfect for young children, and guests who might benefit from a more relaxed theatrical environment. Sensory-Friendly accommodations include: lowered house lights, adjusted sound levels, and a designated quiet area within the theatre lobby. These sensory-friendly performances are being created to foster a welcoming setting for individuals with autism, special needs and their families.