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April 1995 |
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April 1995 |
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Ralph Welsh
Being an Audio Describer can be a rewarding and frustrating experience. Theatre is such a multi-sensory experience that it is hard to imagine what it would be like if you were deprived of any of the stimuli. The Audio Describer attempts to bridge that gap for those who do not get the viual input because of impairment. The describer speaks into a transcriber that transmits to head sets in the audience. The patron hears the description in one ear and the theatre sounds in the other. The challenge is to describe what you are seeing without destroying the other stimuli going on simultaneously.
Descriptions must, at the same time, paint a vision of what can be seen and fit between the dialogue, sound effects and music of the play. You speak when all else is quiet. You fill the time before the curtain rises and during scene changes but mostly your challenge is to wedge descriptions in during brief pauses in action.
Describing Two Trains Running at Center Stage was such a challenge. August Wilson conveys his message through words rather than action. The play is overflowing with dialogue. Marion Isaac McClinton directed the play at such a vigorous pace, there were few pauses for the Audio Describer. Subtle actions such as the passing of the sugar jar were going on throughout the play, but there was no time to describe it. Once there was an important romantic liaison taking place in the background while one of the main characters was giving an equally important monologue. What do you do?
You need to realize that you cannot describe everything and some things must go undescribed. That is the frustration...wanting to do so much, but knowing some will always be left undone. The rewards, though, come in knowing that what you are able to do will enable a theatre patron with visual impairments to enjoy the show. With all the challenge, if there were no Audio Description, the ending of Two Trains Running might be a mystery. The last five minutes are all done in silent actions. Knowing that you are opening the theatre experience to a wider audience is worth the effort and challenge and provides the motivation to hone your description skills to make the experience all the more vital.
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