Audio Description For Small Dance Companies

While audio description for people with visually impairment is not a wholly unknown service in the Bay Area (San Jose-based AudioVision frequently describes shows for both SHN and the Curran Theatres in San Francisco), it hasn’t much penetrated the strata of smaller and more experimental theater and dance companies.  Jess Curtis wants to change that.  Read:  Telling While Showing: New Audio Description Services from Jess Curtis/Gravity.  "Through Gravity, [Curtis] hopes to help foster a growing awareness of accessibility for all—and not just in the larger theaters.  In fact, with a grant from the Haas Foundation, Curtis' company can offer other Bay Area companies the opportunity to host audio description services at their shows for a reduced cost through the end of 2019."

Dr. Joel Snyder and Esther Geiger, a Laban Movement Analyst, went to San Francisco last year to train Jess Curtis and Gravity in audio description technique.  (Posted Aug 13)

[Photo Credit:  Meegan Hertensteiner dances in an audio-described production of Deborah Slater's Solos Lost and Found at SFIAF. (Deborah Slater)]

Edinburgh Festival: Many Performances With AD

Each August, Edinburgh, Scotland, offers five separate events as part of the Edinburgh Festival.  Most run throughout the month.  ADA Scotland provides audio description for many of the events.  For a list of described events, please see the ADA Scotland AD Listings page.  (Posted Aug 13)

Next Audio Describer Training Class

The next opportunity to be trained or refreshed as an Audio Describer comes in October.  Audio Description Training Retreats is offering two classes:  Level 1 and Level 2, on Lake James, in Nebo, NC.  For more information, visit our Education and Training page.  (Posted Aug 13)

2019 ADP Achievement Award Winners

The following award winners were announced at the ACB Convention in Rochester, NY, on July 9:

Achievement in Audio Description - Performing Arts:  Hunter Gullickson, The Guthrie Theater - Minneapolis, MN.
Special Recognition Achievement in Audio Description - Montclair State University - Montclair, NJ.
Achievement in Audio Description - Media:  Microsoft/Xbox - Seattle, WA.
Achievement in Audio Description - Visual Art / Museums / Visitor Centers:  Hannah Goodwin, Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA.
Achievement in Audio Description - International:  Vera Arma, ARTIS Project - Viterbo Area, Italy.
Dr. Margaret R. Pfanstiehl Memorial Achievement Award in Audio Description - Research and Development:  Dr. Brett Oppegaard, The UniDescription Project - University of Hawaii.
Barry Levine Memorial Award for Career Achievement in Audio Description:  Jon P. Skaalen - Minneapolis, MN.

Official Awards Announcement; all previous winners Honor Roll.  (Posted Jul 9)

SUPPORT the ADP Website!  (please ...)

IF you make purchases via Amazon, you can help support the expenses associated with the Audio Description Project and this website.  If you shop online by clicking our "Shop Now!" link (which is always on this main page), any and all purchases you make from Amazon will result in a commission to the ACB (American Council of the Blind), our parent organization.  Purchasing videos via our DVDs page counts, as do additional purchases made while buying a DVD.  PLEASE remember this and help us out!  THANKS!  (And of course you can also click the DONATE button at the top of every page!)

Feature Your Organization Here

What do YOU do for audio description?  Do you provide services professionally?  Are you a non-profit which has been providing description for local theaters for years?  An independent?  A theatre or museum which provides description?  We'd like to hear from you.  Send us a write-up about your work, and we'll consider it for publication here!  Use the Webmaster link at the bottom of the page.