Better Backstages: Accessibility Toolkit For Music and Arts Spaces
Welcome to the Better Backstages website. A digital guide with practical tools to help in identifying barriers, as well as checklists, companion guides, and self audits. With these resources, our goal is to support music venues, arts organizations, and workplaces with the necessary steps to create safe, accessible, and inclusive opportunities for artists.
What Do Brown M&M’s and Accessibility Have in Common?
(Original Caption): Picture shows the four members of the band, Van Halen, posing together in front of a mural outside. Left to right, David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen and Eddie
Van Halen. (Photo by Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Van Halen’s legendary “no brown M&M’s” clause is often misunderstood as rockstar excess. In reality, it was a clever safety check to catch overlooked details and prevent dangerous mistakes.
In the 1980s, Van Halen toured with massive amounts of gear, far beyond what most venues were used to. Their technical rider outlined precise requirements for rigging, staging, pyrotechnics and safety. David Lee Roth explained:
“We’d pull up with nine eighteen-wheeler trucks, full of gear, where the standard was three trucks, max. And there would be many, many technical errors, whether it was the girders couldn’t support the weight, the flooring would sink in, or the doors weren’t big enough to move the gear through.”
Tucked into the rider was Article 126: “There will be no brown M&Ms in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show.”
Eddie Van Halen claimed “If we see brown M&M’s, we know we are not in the hands of professionals. If they didn’t bother with this, what else didn’t they bother with? What other corners are being cut?”
Rather than rockstar vanity, the presence of brown M&M’s signaled a red flag to protect the band, their crew and their fans who trusted a venue to be safe. If small details were overlooked, it hinted at larger, potentially life-threatening issues like structural safety or fire hazards.
Designing accessible spaces can also help keep things running smoothly and stress-free for performers and visitors. The cult-classic comedy This is Spinal Tap hilariously illustrates this point in a scene where the band gets lost backstage trying to find the stage. Following signs and directions, they wind up in a series of dead ends and confusing corridors, only to end up right where they started. The scene was inspired by a real-life event where Tom Petty, while on tour in Germany, wandered through a maze of doors and found himself on an indoor tennis court instead of the stage. Bad wayfinding doesn’t just frustrate visitors and performers, in large venues it can completely derail a show.
Poor planning and overlooked details can have far worse consequences. One of the worst and most tragic examples in recent history is the Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island in 2003. During a Great White concert, a fire spurning from the guitarist’s pyrotechnics spread and engulfed the whole building within six minutes, killing 100 people and injuring over 200 others. Many of the survivors experience severe disability in the aftermath.
There were many overlooked details, including:
At best, bands like Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers get lost backstage; at worst, oversights lead to tragedies like The Station nightclub fire.
In the 1980s, Van Halen toured with massive amounts of gear, far beyond what most venues were used to. Their technical rider outlined precise requirements for rigging, staging, pyrotechnics and safety. David Lee Roth explained:
“We’d pull up with nine eighteen-wheeler trucks, full of gear, where the standard was three trucks, max. And there would be many, many technical errors, whether it was the girders couldn’t support the weight, the flooring would sink in, or the doors weren’t big enough to move the gear through.”
Tucked into the rider was Article 126: “There will be no brown M&Ms in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show.”
Eddie Van Halen claimed “If we see brown M&M’s, we know we are not in the hands of professionals. If they didn’t bother with this, what else didn’t they bother with? What other corners are being cut?”
Rather than rockstar vanity, the presence of brown M&M’s signaled a red flag to protect the band, their crew and their fans who trusted a venue to be safe. If small details were overlooked, it hinted at larger, potentially life-threatening issues like structural safety or fire hazards.
Designing accessible spaces can also help keep things running smoothly and stress-free for performers and visitors. The cult-classic comedy This is Spinal Tap hilariously illustrates this point in a scene where the band gets lost backstage trying to find the stage. Following signs and directions, they wind up in a series of dead ends and confusing corridors, only to end up right where they started. The scene was inspired by a real-life event where Tom Petty, while on tour in Germany, wandered through a maze of doors and found himself on an indoor tennis court instead of the stage. Bad wayfinding doesn’t just frustrate visitors and performers, in large venues it can completely derail a show.
Poor planning and overlooked details can have far worse consequences. One of the worst and most tragic examples in recent history is the Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island in 2003. During a Great White concert, a fire spurning from the guitarist’s pyrotechnics spread and engulfed the whole building within six minutes, killing 100 people and injuring over 200 others. Many of the survivors experience severe disability in the aftermath.
There were many overlooked details, including:
- The band’s pyrotechnics ignited flammable soundproofing foam on the walls and the 12-foot ceiling.
- The nightclub was overcrowded, and the main entrance became blocked, causing a bottleneck effect.
- Bouncers prevented patrons from using the fire exit by the stage claiming it was only for the band to use.
- The soundproofing foam turned out to be highly flammable packing foam and not flame-retardant acoustic foam.
- The packing foam covering the fire exit door became engulfed within seconds, with only 20 people escaping through it.
- The fire alarm sounded, but it wasn't connected to the local fire department.
- The building lacked a sprinkler system.
At best, bands like Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers get lost backstage; at worst, oversights lead to tragedies like The Station nightclub fire.
Access as a Metric of Care
Accessibility is more than a compliance measure, but a sign of care and attention. Many people think of ramps when they think about accessibility. Holistic accessibility addresses barriers in all forms: physical (the built environment), attitudinal (the adaptive environment), and internal operations (human capacity).
This guide is a practical tool to help in identifying some of those barriers. Through a series of checklists and companion guides, the Better Backstages audit framework equips music venues, arts organizations, and workplaces with actionable ways to create safer, accessible and inclusive music and performing arts scenes through thoughtful, sustainable changes made over time.
This resource centers the voices and expertise of disabled people, moving beyond compliance to embrace disability justice by examining policies and understanding workers’ rights and employer responsibilities.
Accessibility resources are most effective when informed by the communities they serve. As such, we’ve included a feedback mechanism to gather your insights and suggestions directly, which will help to shape amendments or future iterations.
-Meghan
© 2025 Meghan Sivani-Merrigan
Apex Arts Access Consulting, Halifax, NS.
[email protected]
www.apexartsaccess.com
This guide is a practical tool to help in identifying some of those barriers. Through a series of checklists and companion guides, the Better Backstages audit framework equips music venues, arts organizations, and workplaces with actionable ways to create safer, accessible and inclusive music and performing arts scenes through thoughtful, sustainable changes made over time.
This resource centers the voices and expertise of disabled people, moving beyond compliance to embrace disability justice by examining policies and understanding workers’ rights and employer responsibilities.
Accessibility resources are most effective when informed by the communities they serve. As such, we’ve included a feedback mechanism to gather your insights and suggestions directly, which will help to shape amendments or future iterations.
-Meghan
© 2025 Meghan Sivani-Merrigan
Apex Arts Access Consulting, Halifax, NS.
[email protected]
www.apexartsaccess.com
What is a Disability?
Disability includes physical or mental conditions that affect a person’s ability to function. The Nova Scotia Human Rights Act recognizes visible, invisible, episodic, and persistent disabilities, such as:
Physical disabilities: Arthritis, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis.
Sensory disabilities: Blindness, low vision, hearing loss, or Deafness.
Cognitive disabilities: Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism.
Mental illnesses: Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, substance dependency.
Invisible disabilities: Chronic pain, heart disease, epilepsy.
Episodic disabilities: Conditions with varying periods of health, like arthritis or migraines.
Physical disabilities: Arthritis, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis.
Sensory disabilities: Blindness, low vision, hearing loss, or Deafness.
Cognitive disabilities: Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism.
Mental illnesses: Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, substance dependency.
Invisible disabilities: Chronic pain, heart disease, epilepsy.
Episodic disabilities: Conditions with varying periods of health, like arthritis or migraines.
What is ableism?
Ableism is unfair treatment or attitudes toward disabled people. It happens when people assume that having a disability makes someone less capable or less valuable. This can show up in how people speak, act, or design spaces that aren’t accessible to everyone. Ableism can also mean ignoring the needs or rights of disabled people in ways that limit their opportunities or independence.
Four Modules: A Toolkit Overview
This guide is divided into 4 sections containing resources, modules, exercises and comprehensive audit and assessment tools to provide the reader with a snapshot of their existing space and the policies and protocols of which their operational foundation is built upon.
Section 1: The Built Environment
This section helps you evaluate and improve the physical accessibility of your venue, inside and outside. It includes the audit checklist and companion guide to assess things like entrances, load-in zones, pathways, bathrooms, stage access and green rooms. The goal is to make sure your space works for people with different mobility needs and disabilities.
Section 2: The Adaptive Environment
This section focuses on creating flexible spaces that meet the needs of people from diverse backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. It offers practical tips for making your venue welcoming, including guidance on smudging ceremonies, an introduction to DeafSpace principles, implementing all-gender facilities, and creating sensory-friendly backstage areas.
Section 3: Access Riders
This section offers a customizable access rider template for artists and performers to communicate their access needs, and a resource directory connects venues with local support services in Nova Scotia and Canada-wide.
Section 4: Human Capacity and Internal Workplace Operations
This section focuses on building a strong foundation for accessibility by creating a supportive, safe, and inclusive workplace culture. It provides an audit tool and companion guide to help you review and improve your internal operations, with practical resources on harm reduction, nightlife safety, and preventing workplace violence. You’ll also find guidance on employee rights, employer responsibilities, and ways to create a fair, respectful, and healthy environment for both staff and patrons.
Section 1: The Built Environment
This section helps you evaluate and improve the physical accessibility of your venue, inside and outside. It includes the audit checklist and companion guide to assess things like entrances, load-in zones, pathways, bathrooms, stage access and green rooms. The goal is to make sure your space works for people with different mobility needs and disabilities.
Section 2: The Adaptive Environment
This section focuses on creating flexible spaces that meet the needs of people from diverse backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. It offers practical tips for making your venue welcoming, including guidance on smudging ceremonies, an introduction to DeafSpace principles, implementing all-gender facilities, and creating sensory-friendly backstage areas.
Section 3: Access Riders
This section offers a customizable access rider template for artists and performers to communicate their access needs, and a resource directory connects venues with local support services in Nova Scotia and Canada-wide.
Section 4: Human Capacity and Internal Workplace Operations
This section focuses on building a strong foundation for accessibility by creating a supportive, safe, and inclusive workplace culture. It provides an audit tool and companion guide to help you review and improve your internal operations, with practical resources on harm reduction, nightlife safety, and preventing workplace violence. You’ll also find guidance on employee rights, employer responsibilities, and ways to create a fair, respectful, and healthy environment for both staff and patrons.
Land Acknowledgement
Based in Mi’kma’ki, we acknowledge that the lands on which we work are the traditional and unceded territories of the Mi’kmaq. We recognize and appreciate the ancestral and continued ties of Indigenous Peoples to the lands and waters in the region known as Nova Scotia. We cannot engage in the work of improving accessibility and inclusivity in arts and cultural spaces without recognizing the ongoing and historical impacts of colonialism and settler structures on Indigenous peoples, including those who are Two-Spirit. We also acknowledge the historical oppression and systemic barriers faced by African Nova Scotians and other marginalized communities in our province.
Disability Justice Principles
Disability justice recognizes that disabled people, especially those from marginalized communities, face unique challenges due to intersecting systems of oppression like racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia. It centers the leadership of Black, Indigenous, people of color, and 2SLGBTQIA+ disabled individuals, calling for a reimagining of community that values interdependence over independence.
The Deaf, Disability & Mad Arts Alliance of Canada (DDMAAC) exemplifies these values by promoting artistic expression across a spectrum of disability, deafness, and mental health experiences. Through their work, DDMAAC challenges societal perceptions of disability and highlights the creative power of disabled artists.
The Deaf, Disability & Mad Arts Alliance of Canada (DDMAAC) exemplifies these values by promoting artistic expression across a spectrum of disability, deafness, and mental health experiences. Through their work, DDMAAC challenges societal perceptions of disability and highlights the creative power of disabled artists.
Disclaimer
This guide provides general information to help music venues understand accessibility in the built environment. It is not a substitute for professional advice or a comprehensive assessment.
The suggestions are for reference only, and any structural changes should be made with input from qualified professionals. The audit is based on best practices from the CSA/ASC B651:23 - National Standard of Canada: Accessible Design for the Built Environment, which go beyond the minimum requirements of building codes.
This document may be shared for informational purposes with credit given to the author. Content must remain unaltered and cannot be used for profit.
The suggestions are for reference only, and any structural changes should be made with input from qualified professionals. The audit is based on best practices from the CSA/ASC B651:23 - National Standard of Canada: Accessible Design for the Built Environment, which go beyond the minimum requirements of building codes.
This document may be shared for informational purposes with credit given to the author. Content must remain unaltered and cannot be used for profit.
