As Katie began to research what is new in the field, she had a conversation with PPT’s resident sound designer and engineer, Zach Moore. Zach suggested that she check out the services of Sound Associates Inc., a New York-based company that supplies PPT with its Assisted Listening System.
3 comments:
This is an excellent step towards making the theatre arts more accessible to all members of the public. It’s exciting to see that technology has advanced far enough to allow for the possibility of added a device that can not only make theatre accessible but enhance the experience for those with impairments. The article says that the recordings are done after opening night allowing their interpreter to then record the descriptions and I quote “at this point the show’s timing is set so the descriptions will be accurate.” While the recorded aspect does allow for more flexibility and usage for the audience members it does not allow live theatre to be just that, live. These recordings are on the assumption that nothing will ever go wrong and that the timings will always remain the same. Theatre will never function that way, that is much of the excitement of live theatre in the first place. I would love to see however, the evolution of this program to one in which the recorded bits are tied to the execution of cues. Which could happily marry the live aspect with the accessibility of the recordings.
This article makes me so happy because I always want to see how theater is changing and moving forward. Not only does it open theater to new groups of people, but it also allows different stories to be told. Last year I saw a Deaf-West Production of Spring Awakening and while I heard criticism about the production’s style of ASL. Adding the element of deaf characters, to a story about miscommunication adds a significant element to the story. I hope that the Public will apply similar strategies to not just use the technology, but also incorporate more disabled characters and tell a lot diverse stories.
In tech theater there is always a trade off, and while I would prefer all elements to be live in theater, it makes sense that the audio descriptions are recorded. I also like that Katie Conway pointed out that she wants to work hard to work around the already established narrative. Also I like the fact that the audio description can can be used like an audible program, not just describing the plot. I think that is a clever use of the technology and I like that they are trying to make every aspect of theater accessible.
I think this article speaks to something that is very important. This art form cannot be accessed by all because of hearing or sight related issues. I personally know a few people who have hearing problems and so when they go to productions they always get a device that essentially amplifies the audio by playing it through headphones of some sort attached to a device that receives the audio of the show. It does it live as well. But this is an interesting idea with incorporating words to play across the screen in addition to headphones as to range the disabilities better. It is also important that they spent time focusing on how timing works out and with countermeasures should a show be altered for some reason. It is very cool that they put in a little pre- show about the design of the show. As an audience member I would love to know about such interesting facts. Overall, I love this idea and hope it takes off in the industry.
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