	December 1994

Acting Accessibly

Jimi Kinstle, MD TAP Support Staff and Head Theatre Critic

It's earlier in the year...it must be, it's still warm. I sit in a nearly empty theatre watching Director Laura Hackman rehearse the Samuel Beckett one act, Rough for Theatre I, for Mongrel Theatre Company. On stage, Jackie Underwood and Bethany Hoffman create the world of a blind man and a man in a wheelchair in a void of near hopelessness. Ms. Hackman has altered the sexuality of the roles from men to women. But this challenge is twofold for her actors. The physical restrictions of being handicapped have been added. Laura blindfolds Jackie in an attempt to enhance her feeling of sightlessness. Bethany, in an old-fashioned wooden wheelchair, pushes herself back and forth with a cane, searching for the natural fluent movement of the wheelchair.

While rehearsal continues on stage to "disable" able actors, I look around and chuckle when I notice that the theatre is not wheelchair accessible. Audiences often see actors portray the disabled. It is a primary conflict in several storylines, yet the worlds of theatre and enabling technology seldom interact offstage. Since I began working at the Maryland Technology Assistance Program, I've become more aware of the distance between those worlds. Every time I enter a theatre space, I check its accessibility. I check programs for enabling information: Is there a wheelchair ramp? Is there a signed performance? Is audio description available? The conflicts often portrayed on the stage are not often resolved or even approached in the audience. The most empathetic audiences are often unable to attend the performances. How many audio described performances have you heard of The Miracle Worker? The disabled are beginning to make their mark in the entertainment world. We have just had our first hearing impaired Miss America. What's the difference between an individual with a disability and an actor? One tries to end their inability by adding to their abilities, the other tries to limit their abilities to portray inability. The main underlying theme is that everyone, to some extent, is an actor and we are all challenged individuals in some capacity. Together maybe we can act, and make theatre accessible, so everyone can be appreciated simultaneously.

Check out the audio described and sign interpreted performances at the Lyric Opera House / Morris Mechanic Theatre. Dates and times follow this article. For tickets and information, call 410-625-1400.

Beginning with our March "95 issue, Jimi Kinstle will be writing a regular column in TT, reviewing theatre performances which are audio described and sign-interpreted. Aside from his indispensable work with MD TAP, Jimi is a member of the improvisational comedy troupe, The Flying Tongues. Welcome aboard, Jimi!

Rodgers and Hammerstein's: A Grand Night for Singing
December 27 - January 15

Audio described performances:
Saturday Matinee December 31 2 PM;
Tuesday Evening January 3 8 PM
Sign interpreted performances:
Wednesday evening January 4 8 PM;
Saturday Matinee January 7 2 PM

Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Audio described performances
Saturday Matinee January 21 2 PM
Tuesday Evening January 24 8 PM
Sign interpreted performances:
Wednesday evening January 25 8 PM
Saturday Matinee January 28 2 PM

Neil Simon's Smash Comedy Hit: Laughter on the 23rd Floor Audio described performances:

Saturday Matinee March 4 2 PM
Tuesday Evening March 7 8 PM
Sign interpreted performances:
Wednesday evening March 8 8 PM
Saturday Matinee March 11 2 PM


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Acting Accessibly

Rodgers and Hammerstein's: A Grand Night for Singing December 27 - January 15

Andrew Lloyd Webber's new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Neil Simon's Smash Comedy Hit: Laughter on the 23rd Floor Audio described performances:

Rodgers and Hammerstein's: A Grand Night for Singing
December 27 - January 15