Accessible Hit Broadway Musical, Mary Poppins

Accessible Hit Broadway Musical, Mary Poppins, at the Princess of Wales Theatre  

Presented by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh

Audio Description Available!

Both Thursday December 8 and December 22 performances will be described

Mary Poppins, the musical production, will be audio described at the Princess of Wales Theatre on December 8 and 22, 2011. Blind or low vision theatre goers can enjoy improved access to the splendor and charm of Mary Poppins.

Mary Poppins marks the first collaboration between Disney, producer of the acclaimed The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, and Cameron Mackintosh, legendary producer of the record-breaking The Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Les Misérables. The result is a new musical so extraordinarily enchanting you’ll have just one word for it: “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”

This global effervescent hit features the irresistible story of precocious and charming Mary Poppins. Unforgettable songs from the Disney popular film, including “A Spoonful of Sugar”, Chim Chim Cher-ee”, and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” plus, new breathtaking dances will be brought to life through words, awakening your hearts and delighting your imagination.

When: Thursday December 8, 2011 starting at 7:30pm

Cost: $94 or $76.50 each (Includes tax and service charge). For blind/low vision individuals.

When: Thursday December 22, 2011 starting at 2:00pm

Cost: $66 per person (Includes tax and service charge). For blind/low vision individuals.

Where: Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto, ON

To Attend Please Contact Karen Moran - kmoran@mirvish.com

Ryerson University’s Centre for Learning Technology, in collaboration with Exposure TnT and Mirvish Productions, encourages you to bring your friends and family to these described performances.

For more information about Exposure TnT contact Kerri Clarke at kerri@exposuretnt.com or visit their website at http://www.exposuretnt.com/

To confirm our headset availability for audio description, please RSVP to Mala Naraine or Margot Whitfield by email or by phone:

Mala Naraine, email: mala.naraine@ryerson.ca or phone: 416 979 5000 ex. 7620

Margot Whitfield, email: margot.whitfield@ryerson.ca or phone: 416 979 5000 ex. 7110

You can also visit and invite other guests on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=256310294416645

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182290771855975

Mala's Comments on More Fine Girls audio described

Mala’s comments on the audio described play

More Fine Girls (Audio-described)

Tarragon Theatre

March 23, 2011

The Play was about three sisters in their 50s who had their own issues with personal identity, relationships, health and middle age. It seems that the play was intended to be a comedy, but it was not a convincing production. I heard others laughing but I did not find the play funny myself. I did not enjoy this production of More Fine Girls.

The technology for the AD worked fine. There was no noise or static during the description. It was great to have the technology working well. However, the technology was set up to work only in one section (close to the back) of the theatre. The blind AD users could only sit in the designated area for the headsets to work. I wanted to sit closer to the front, but I was told that the headsets will not work close to the front of the theatre. This means as a low vision person, I was not able to see as well as if I had sat close to the front.  I would have liked to have a choice of where I sit in the theatre.

The describer had a nice clear voice and did not whisper so it was easy to listen to her description. Her narration voice was very good; she enunciated clearly and provided a lot of detail e.g. miming, gesturers and the projections displayed on the screen. She had a consistent style of describing.   

She described the program and introduced us to the characters and the set and costume before the play started. So we were able to understand the preface to the play. But the audience was still getting seated so this noise was distracting and I missed some of her description to the preface.

She used the conventional method to describe the play so we got the information to help us follow the sequence of the play. The three sisters names all begin with J and she kept using the wrong names of the women (Jane and Joejoe) several times during the description and would apologize for her mistake, which sometimes confused me.

From listening to the description, I could not tell that the play was a comedy.

Also, there were times in the play where there were loud noise e.g. explosion. The describer would try to explain what was happening but it was hard to hear her because the sound was too loud that it overpowered her description and made it difficult to understand both the description and the play..

All in all, the technology and the AD for More Fine Girls were much better than the previous play at the Factory theatre in November 2010.  However, the play at the Factory theatre, Bethune Imagined, was very well-acted and a very good production unlike More Fine Girls.

I wondered if I had sat closer to the front, where I usually sit in theatres, if I would have enjoyed the play more.             

A Lesson in Communications

Interaction between the blind and the deaf: A lesson in Communications

For persons who are blind or deaf, it takes a longer time to develop relationships with colleagues at work. A further challenge exists when both people have disabilities.  

As a person with low vision I often thought that it would be a challenge to communicate with someone who is deaf.  My encounters with persons who are deaf were usually breaf and  my communications was done through an interpreter.

When I started my postdoc at the CLT lab in 2009, I met Ellen who is  deaf. I was not sure how to communicate with her. So I would say “hi” to her when I notice that she is in the lab. I knew she was not hearing me. I would often approach her and try to look at her face and then say “hi”. She would respond by saying “hi, how are you?” At first, I had a hard time understanding her speech. But I soon got used to her pronunciations and was able to understand what she was saying. Sometimes Ellen and I would communicate in writing. She is very sensitive to me and would write in large-print. Our brief interactions occurred when we are in the lab. I felt the need to communicate with Ellen more, but I didn’t know how to do this without an interpreter. So often we would not communicate with each other. I would see Ellen at her desk and I would assume that she was busy and I didn’t want to disturb her. Sometimes, I would wave to her as a way of saying hi.

At Deb’s Christmas Party, Ellen had a friend with her who was also her interpreter. Through her interpreter, Ellen and I were able to have a conversation. It started out as a social chat where were getting to know each other. As we got further into the conversation, Ellen asked me if she could ask me something. I said yes. Ellen explained that she did not understand my facial expression when I am in the lab. So she did not know what I was thinking or feeling because there was no facial expression to help her communicate with me.

I explained to her through her interpreter, that I am low vision and I am not used to facial expressions. I don’t understand how to interpret facial expressions and body language so I don’t use them. It was then that we both realize that we had similar challenges with communicating with each other. I could not read her expressions so I did not know that she was smiling at me and was interested in talking to me in the lab. And Ellen did not know how to interpret my lack of facial expression. So she assumed that I  was not responsive towards her in the lab. She is a visual person and I am an auditory person. And we were both challenged.

I suggested that we develop some codes for communicating with each other. The interpreter facilitated our developing these communication codes. We agreed that I will tap Ellen on her shoulder when I want to get her attention. When I am passing by her desk, I will raise my hands with my fingers moving up and down to say hi.  When I am saying good by, I will wave my hand . She will say hi Mala when she wants to talk to me in the lab. We will say hi to each other when me meet outside the lab to acknowledge each other. We agreed that we would find a time to have coffee with her interpreter so we could continue having social conversations.

It is really nice that Ellen and I were able to work out a way to communicate with each other. I am glad that we had an opportunity at a social event to resolve our communication challenges.  Now that we are back at work, we are enjoying communicating with each other. It took a work-related social event where we were more relaxed and with an interpreter present, we could have a fruitful discussion on how to overcome our different communication barriers.   

          

Interaction between the blind and the deaf: A lesson in Communications

For persons who are blind or deaf, it takes a longer time to develop relationships with colleagues at work. A further challenge exists when both people have disabilities.  

As a person with low vision I often thought that it would be a challenge to communicate with someone who is deaf.  My encounters with persons who are deaf were usually breaf and  my communications was done through an interpreter.

When I started my postdoc at the CLT lab in 2009, I met Ellen who is  deaf. I was not sure how to communicate with her. So I would say “hi” to her when I notice that she is in the lab. I knew she was not hearing me. I would often approach her and try to look at her face and then say “hi”. She would respond by saying “hi, how are you?” At first, I had a hard time understanding her speech. But I soon got used to her pronunciations and was able to understand what she was saying. Sometimes Ellen and I would communicate in writing. She is very sensitive to me and would write in large-print. Our brief interactions occurred when we are in the lab. I felt the need to communicate with Ellen more, but I didn’t know how to do this without an interpreter. So often we would not communicate with each other. I would see Ellen at her desk and I would assume that she was busy and I didn’t want to disturb her. Sometimes, I would wave to her as a way of saying hi.

At Deb’s Christmas Party, Ellen had a friend with her who was also her interpreter. Through her interpreter, Ellen and I were able to have a conversation. It started out as a social chat where were getting to know each other. As we got further into the conversation, Ellen asked me if she could ask me something. I said yes. Ellen explained that she did not understand my facial expression when I am in the lab. So she did not know what I was thinking or feeling because there was no facial expression to help her communicate with me.

I explained to her through her interpreter, that I am low vision and I am not used to facial expressions. I don’t understand how to interpret facial expressions and body language so I don’t use them. It was then that we both realize that we had similar challenges with communicating with each other. I could not read her expressions so I did not know that she was smiling at me and was interested in talking to me in the lab. And Ellen did not know how to interpret my lack of facial expression. So she assumed that I  was not responsive towards her in the lab. She is a visual person and I am an auditory person. And we were both challenged.

I suggested that we develop some codes for communicating with each other. The interpreter facilitated our developing these communication codes. We agreed that I will tap Ellen on her shoulder when I want to get her attention. When I am passing by her desk, I will raise my hands with my fingers moving up and down to say hi.  When I am saying good by, I will wave my hand . She will say hi Mala when she wants to talk to me in the lab. We will say hi to each other when me meet outside the lab to acknowledge each other. We agreed that we would find a time to have coffee with her interpreter so we could continue having social conversations.

It is really nice that Ellen and I were able to work out a way to communicate with each other. I am glad that we had an opportunity at a social event to resolve our communication challenges.  Now that we are back at work, we are enjoying communicating with each other. It took a work-related social event where we were more relaxed and with an interpreter present, we could have a fruitful discussion on how to overcome our different communication barriers.   

          

Interaction between the blind and the deaf: A lesson in Communications

For persons who are blind or deaf, it takes a longer time to develop relationships with colleagues at work. A further challenge exists when both people have disabilities.  

As a person with low vision I often thought that it would be a challenge to communicate with someone who is deaf.  My encounters with persons who are deaf were usually breaf and  my communications was done through an interpreter.

When I started my postdoc at the CLT lab in 2009, I met Ellen who is  deaf. I was not sure how to communicate with her. So I would say “hi” to her when I notice that she is in the lab. I knew she was not hearing me. I would often approach her and try to look at her face and then say “hi”. She would respond by saying “hi, how are you?” At first, I had a hard time understanding her speech. But I soon got used to her pronunciations and was able to understand what she was saying. Sometimes Ellen and I would communicate in writing. She is very sensitive to me and would write in large-print. Our brief interactions occurred when we are in the lab. I felt the need to communicate with Ellen more, but I didn’t know how to do this without an interpreter. So often we would not communicate with each other. I would see Ellen at her desk and I would assume that she was busy and I didn’t want to disturb her. Sometimes, I would wave to her as a way of saying hi.

At Deb’s Christmas Party, Ellen had a friend with her who was also her interpreter. Through her interpreter, Ellen and I were able to have a conversation. It started out as a social chat where were getting to know each other. As we got further into the conversation, Ellen asked me if she could ask me something. I said yes. Ellen explained that she did not understand my facial expression when I am in the lab. So she did not know what I was thinking or feeling because there was no facial expression to help her communicate with me.

I explained to her through her interpreter, that I am low vision and I am not used to facial expressions. I don’t understand how to interpret facial expressions and body language so I don’t use them. It was then that we both realize that we had similar challenges with communicating with each other. I could not read her expressions so I did not know that she was smiling at me and was interested in talking to me in the lab. And Ellen did not know how to interpret my lack of facial expression. So she assumed that I  was not responsive towards her in the lab. She is a visual person and I am an auditory person. And we were both challenged.

I suggested that we develop some codes for communicating with each other. The interpreter facilitated our developing these communication codes. We agreed that I will tap Ellen on her shoulder when I want to get her attention. When I am passing by her desk, I will raise my hands with my fingers moving up and down to say hi.  When I am saying good by, I will wave my hand . She will say hi Mala when she wants to talk to me in the lab. We will say hi to each other when me meet outside the lab to acknowledge each other. We agreed that we would find a time to have coffee with her interpreter so we could continue having social conversations.

It is really nice that Ellen and I were able to work out a way to communicate with each other. I am glad that we had an opportunity at a social event to resolve our communication challenges.  Now that we are back at work, we are enjoying communicating with each other. It took a work-related social event where we were more relaxed and with an interpreter present, we could have a fruitful discussion on how to overcome our different communication barriers.   

          

 

 

 

Play - Bethune Immagine AD - Factory Theatre

Mala’s comments on the play at Factory Theatre

Play: Bethune Imagined

Written and directed by Ken Gass

The AD performance was on

November 30, 2010

The play was about the life of a Canadian doctor who was a social activist and who became internationally renowned for his work in Spain and China during the 1930s. The play focused on his romantic life with three women. The play was easy to follow and most of it was dialogue.

The AD was sponsored by Sun Life Financial who provided the head sets for the AD and covered the cost of the two female describers. The description was done live during the performance.

We were given our head sets before the show and we were seated 20 minutes before the show began. The describers provided a prologue to the play 15 minutes before the show. They took turns describing the program notes and the stage set. They described each character in the sequence that they appeared in the play. The audience was chatting so it was difficult to hear the AD prologue before the play.

The first describer described Act 1; the second describer described Act 2.

They were both whispering throughout the description. It was difficult to hear them. Also my head set had static so that interrupted the AD. They described the visual action in a factual, reporting style. It sounded like a set of instructions. Even when they were dramatic moments, these were not portrayed by the describers’ voices.

It was not an entertaining experience for me. This experience was stressful because I had to hold the devise and move it around to ease the static. Even with the volume to the highest, I could not hear the describers. My head was hurting when I got home. The devise was adjusted during intermission and the static was better during Act 2. But because of the describers’ whispers, I had to strain to hear the information. The play was great. It was mostly dialogue so I would have enjoyed it better without the description. Having to hold a head set and dealing with static was very distracting for me. The play could be adapted for radio because the dialogue was detailed enough without AD.

20 blind people attended the play. I spoke with some of them and they indicated that they were fine with the description. They all said “it was good”. When I asked in what way it was good, they could not say. There was a reception afterwards with refreshments for the blind people who attended. Rose told us that this AD is part of a larger project on accessibility that she is involved in. She said that they will be other plays in the new year.

I don’t plan to attend any more plays with the conventional style of AD.

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