Kestrell

Access-Palooza: A Celebration of Accessibility in Theatre
Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-midsummer-nights-dream-access-palooza-community-performance-tickets-276143240867

The public performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream on May 7 at 2:00 p.m. will be at the Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Road, Boston, MA 02125

“Access-Palooza” will offer a sensory-friendly performance, offering open captioning, ASL interpretation, audio description, and some sensory-friendly accommodations. We welcome all patrons to attend this performance as we hope to continue this vital work of making the arts accessible to all. A talkback with the artists and access teams and a Light Reception will follow the performance.

Headshot of Christopher Robinson, a Black cis-male, late 40s, clean shaven, with short twisty hair locs.

CSC Accessibility Advocate, Christopher Robinson, says “Offering accessibility services is, at minimum, a beginning to create an equitable experience for disabled artists and the disabled patron community. The cathartic experience of live theater requires everyone to be able to get in the door and sit at the table.”

About Accessibility Services
https://commshakes.org/accessibility/

Open Captioning
Open captioning is a display of text describing words and sounds heard during an event. The display is positioned in such a way that it is open for anyone to see in a particular seating area.
Two actors perform a scene with caption presented to the upper right of them.




ASL interpretation
ASL interpretation uses live interpreters to translate the text and action of the play into American Sign Language.
ID: Three interpreters translate for the characters of Othello.





Audio Description
Audio Description is a means to inform individuals who are blind or who have low vision about visual content essential for the understanding and enjoyment of a production.
ID: An audio describer as they describe our production of The Tempest.





Sensory Friendly
Sensory Friendly Accommodations include adjusted light and sound levels, a quiet area in the lobby, and relaxed audience expectations during the performance.
ID: Signage for an Accessible Seating Area on Boston Common



CSC is always happy to accommodate accessibility needs when possible at all performances and can be requested at audienceservices@commshakes.org.
CSC is a designated UP organization by the Mass Cultural Council. Universal Participation (UP) Initiative aims to activate the aspirations of the Americans with Disabilities Act to break down the barriers that prevent full civic participation in Massachusetts’ cultural sector. Visit
their website
https://massculturalcouncil.org/organizations/universal-participation-initiative/about/
to learn more about UP.

Support Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E329847&id=76


Did you know that 80% of our financial support comes from donors like you? Please consider making a gift today to help us continue to keep theater accessible for all!

Make A Gift!
https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E329847&id=76

From the announcement:

Are you looking for something unique and fun to do during Halloween weekend, then you will want to consider attending one of the audio described performances of Rocky Horror Show presented by Moonbox Productions during Halloween Week!

Moonbox Productions
presents The Rocky Horror Show
at The Lab, 25 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

The Audio Described performances are at 8 PM on Friday, October 29, 2021 and Friday, November 5. (Pre-show description starts at 7:30.)

Tickets for the audio described performances are $20.
To order your tickets at the $20 price, contact
Kara Crumrine at:
Community@moonbox.org
All requests for accommodation will be prioritized.

ABOUT THE SHOW
Back by popular demand, Moonbox Productions will perform Richard O’Brien’s legendary cult classic, The Rocky Horror Show, at a pop-up theater in Harvard Square. Directed by David Lucey, Choreography by Daniel Forest Sullivan, Assistant Choreography by Joy Clark, and Music Directed by Mindy Cimini. Starring Peter Mill as Frank ‘N’ Furter (Elliot Norton Award Nominee - Outstanding Musical Performance 2019).
A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the late 1940s through to the early 1970s, The Rocky Horror Show tells the story of Brad Majors and his fiancée, Janet Weiss, who get caught in a thunderstorm with a flat-tire and are forced to seek help at the castle of Dr. Frank ’N’ Furter, a transvestite scientist with a manic genius and insatiable libido. Brad, Janet, and Frank’ N’ Furter’s cohorts are swept up into the scientist’s latest experiment, a Frankenstein-style monster in the form of an artificially made, fully grown, physically perfect muscle man named Rocky Horror, complete “with blond hair and a tan”. The night’s misadventures will cause Brad and Janet to question everything they’ve known about themselves, each other, love, and lust. With an irresistible rock ’n’ roll score, The Rocky Horror Show is a hilarious, wild ride that no audience will soon forget.

Moonbox Productions requires face masks and proof of vaccination or proof of a recent negative COVID test.

Kara Crumrine
Moonbox Productions
Director of Community/Accessibility Initiatives
community@moonbox.org
603-748-1693 (voice)
she/her/hers

At the beginning of the podcast I mention below, there is a brief ad, and I wanted to confirm what it said was still true, which it is:

Deque University Scholarships for People with Disabilities
If you have a disability, you qualify for a scholarship to access to Deque's in-depth web accessibility curriculum for a full year (normally $315) at no cost.
https://dequeuniversity.com/scholarships#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20a%20disability,normally%20%24315)%20at%20no%20cost

Will VR be Accessible?
13 Letters podcast April 16, 2020

Will Butler from Be My Eyes interviews Larry Goldberg, head of accessibility at Verizon Media. Larry spent twenty years at WGBH in Boston developing the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), and in this interview he discusses much of the history of innovations such as close captioning and audio description.
https://www.bemyeyes.com/podcasts/will-vr-be-accessible
Listen through Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0VsGfjRZEsw3Gf8FSrdcDV

Note: VR isn't really discussed until about 67% of the way through the podcast, but Larry has many fascinating stories about the history and people involved in the history of accessible technologies.

Inside the Verizon Accessibility Lab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grK0ihVi-FA

This Q&A with Larry Goldberg contains links to many of the resources he mentions in the podcast
https://equalentry.com/qa-with-larrygoldberg-headofaccessibility-verizonmedia/#:~:text=Larry%20Goldberg%20leads%20Accessibility%20at,and%20audio%20description%20production%20unit.

xr access initiative -A community committed to making virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (XR) accessible to people with disabilities
https://xraccess.org/#content

Have you ever wondered how blind and visually impaired people watch film, television and theater? Are you using audio description but finding it hard to keep up on what’s new in the field? Are you new to the audio description profession or industry and hoping to find one place where you can stay connected with the most current news and developments in the field?

Then, here’s the podcast for you: Picture This – A show about audio description and accessible entertainment. This semimonthly podcast will talk about the world of audio description; discuss the latest technology trends, and interview industry insiders, movers and shakers. We will hear from consumers, personalities, creators, and content producers.

Your co-hosts are Carl Richardson and Brian Charlson, longtime consumers of audio description.
( continued below cut )

Posted to the Art_beyond_sight_advocacy list
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/art_beyond_sight_advocacy_nfbnet.org

Audio Description Course - Spring 2011
Study Audio Description at Montgomery College this Spring!

Audio Description is a literary art form. It's a type of poetry--a haiku. It provides a verbal version of the visual--the visual is made verbal, and aural, and oral. Using words that are succinct, vivid, and imaginative, describers convey the visual image from television and film that is not fully accessible to a significant segment of the population * and not fully realized by the rest of us--the rest of us, sighted folks who see but who may not observe.

Audio describers provide services in various multi-media settings, including theater, television, video, film, exhibits, museums, and educational venues--but also at circuses, rodeos, ice skating exhibitions and myriad sports events.
Instructor Joel Snyder, President of Audio Description Associates, LLC www.audiodescribe.com jsnyder@audiodescribe.com
Course details at http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=tswsbvdab&v=001QYDB14zrJ4_6HSSmGIJGLP5z26zPXBgpGadKzt9LHcxZON8cK4nfZG06eY16p1msigIH1VyXlXqWLxt3BEFukG-mdL7AsPHpgvosha94xZcENi3TdLoGmg%3D%3D