	November 1998

Theater Art

Carole Lewis

If you had normal vision and then became totally blind, would you still attend the theater? What is the point of attending a production at an area theater if you cannot see the performers, costumes, sets, and lighting?

For me, the answer was obvious. Of course, I would attend. I have always loved theater, and had no intention of giving up that love just because I lost my vision. I have attended and enjoyed many performances since becoming blind, and I am usually able to follow the show by asking someone seated next to me to read the cast of characters and scene locations; by listening to dialog and sound effects; and by asking occasional clarifying questions. Thanks to Maryland Technology Assistance Program (MD TAP), Maryland Arts Access, Inc., and a great many diligent volunteers, an innovative service, Audio Description, is now available to help me appreciate more of what is happening visually without having to rely on those around me.

Audio Description is provided by a live volunteer describer usually stationed in the rear of the theater or in a booth. This describer speaks into a microphone and may read the list of characters, describe costumes and set designs, signal important scene and lighting changes, alert me to meaningful gestures and body language, etc. I wear a headset during the production, which allows me to listen to this information. I can then use this information, together with that spoken by the performers or other sound effects, to help me more accurately visualize the scene in front of me.

Thanks to audio description, I know that in one scene in "Forever Plaid," at Cockpit in the Court at Essex Community College, all members of the musical group were singing into plungers instead of microphones. In addition, in "How I Learned to Drive," at Center Stage Theater, the audio describer pointed out that a male adolescent's eyes were plastered to Lil Bit's bosom at their school dance, and that this young man walked across the stage on shoes attached to his knees to emphasize this point.

I am very appreciative to the theaters, which now offer audio description, and hope that it will become more widespread in the future. For more information on Audio Description or how you can help, please contact:
Florence Smoot
Executive Director
Maryland Arts Access, Inc.
(410) 347 - 1650.

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