Theater Accessibility and Deaf Patrons

I wrote a blog post on theater accessibility from the perspective of a Deaf theater aficionado - link here: http://thecreativepensieve.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-view-from-row-tales-of-deaf-theater.html

My question, which will address the line in the post regarding not seeing shows in NYC despite countless attempts to do so - which shows have you seen ASL interpreters and/or open captioning at?

I know many if not most of you don't have hearing loss or know someone who does - but I'm sure you've gone to a show and saw two or three people dressed in all-black and hands flying in the air or the presence of a small screen off to the side keeping up with the dialogue : )

I'm asking as TDF seems to be cutting back on ASL interpretation in favor of OC, which is very sad news indeed (and one of the reasons why I chase the tours instead).

Also, have you seen their presence at stops on the national tours? (I've seen shows in Chicago, Minneapolis, Boise, Los Angeles, and I just asked about shows in South Carolina - Columbia never does while Greenville it is on a case-by-case basis. Minneapolis has them all beat, even NYC, with its sheer number of ASL and OC performances not just at the Broadway level).

Name the show and the city, please.

Thank you so much for helping me out! This information would be greatly appreciated and will enhance my upcoming blog post on the current situation of accessibility when it comes to Deaf and HOH patrons.

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Yes, you are correct about Aladdin - Disney does a great job in providing at least ONE interpreted performance per month, on a rotational basis - ie Aladdin one month, The Lion King the next, and so on.

Right now I *think* they are the only ones who does... So many shows I tried to see (ie Rent) were only interpreted once and never again so if I missed it, too bad to me.

TDF's TYA program does interpreted shows twice a year for the K-12 crowd, and I've outgrown my high school ID - ha. Other than that, I haven't seen anything on TDF's TAP offerings, nor on HandsOn (I met Beth and had a lengthy chat with her about it, ditto with Lisa Carling over at TDF-TAP.

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To Deaf/HOH patrons, there is a WORLD of difference between interpreted shows and the open captions. Most (if not all) of my Deaf friends wouldn't even want to go to an open captioned show.

I've seen ASL interpreters at Les Miz in St. Louis, Phantom in Sacramento, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in San Jose.

I also was at a performance of Jersey Boys in San Francisco with interpreters, but they were seated in the aisle and you had to request seats near them if you wanted to see them (they weren't sitting on stools in the pit since there is no open pit at Jersey Boys). I was in my second year of ASL then and was a bit bummed not to be able to see them, but I was a lower priority!

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I'd love to read that!

Team Interpreters or Team Captions? Here's my response to the interpreter/captioning debacle for Broadway shows as requested - "ASL Interpreting or Captioning at Broadway Shows: A Deaf Patron's Perspective" - please do read it here:

http://thecreativepensieve.blogspot.com/2014/11/asl-interpreting-or-captioning-at.html

Discuss away!

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Wow. Just now seeing the further replies. Where have I been?
Jordan, I agree that there is a world of difference between the two. I honestly find ASL interpretation to be far better as they are able to react in real time to the variations in performance and maintain accuracy if a performer strays and stay in sync.
I hope it was understood that my "apples and oranges" comment / post referred purely to the logistics of arranging for captioning or interpreters.

I've recently become hard of hearing, after many years of theatre-going and studying theatre, so this is new to me. I do not know ASL but I intend on learning. Since the hearing loss began, I have yet to attend any theatrical performance with OC, so I cannot comment from personal experience.

Your blog and the responding posts/responses cover all the bases, including all of my own concerns. Ultimately, OC is accessible to a broader audience of d/Deaf/HOH patrons. There are less resources needed to provide an OC caption performance than an interpreted one. However, an interpreted performance is a richer, more engaging experience by far. The very nature of sign language is one of physical expression and in the performance world, it feels right at home. It is a shame that TDF is cutting down, and I sincerely wish they were offered together more often.

On a side note, I am so glad that you started this discussion. I was not well-informed on the concerns of d/Deaf/HOH patrons before my own hearing loss, but I am grateful to speak on them now. As I've become more educated, I've found that it is important to speak up in order to bridge gaps between the hearing and the d/Deaf/HOH communities in general and especially within the theatre community. Initiating dialogue is key. Thank you. (Though this a drastically minuscule concern in comparison, lately I've felt inclined to contact the "popular" Broadway websites to ask about captioning their videos. There is so much video content constantly being made for theatre fans, but it is not accessible. And although it is generally dreadful, I am glad Youtube has the 'automatic captions' setting--it's a start. Regardless, I understand the resources necessary for captioning are not necessarily abundant and this is not a major concern in the grand scheme of things.)

As per request, updating the list of sign language interpreted and captioned performances by venue/organization, and again as per request, posting it here should any of you have a fellow Deaf theatergoer that might need information or a guiding point in the right direction.

However, it is far from complete - if you know of any local/national/international organizations or venues that reguarly promote those shows (not just "on a case by case basis or by request only", but actually scheduled full season of shows regardless if any Deaf show up), do let me know so I can add to it.

Link: http://thecreativepensieve.blogspot.com/2015/01/theater-accessibility-update-sign.html

(It's also on the Pages tab under "Theater Aficionado" as well).

If there are any subjects you would like me to cover, just let me know and I will write it up and post a notice on this thread :)

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