Audio Description + Mission To give greater access to the arts in Chicago to patrons who are blind or visually-impaired, the Access Task Force of the League of Chicago Theatres is coordinating a three-day workshop to train people with acting or communications experience in the art of Audio Description. Audio Description (AD) is the art of making the visual verbal. Through the skillful use of language, AD allows persons with visual impairments greater access to the images integral to theater performances, on film and video and in museum exhibitions. During an event or performance, a trained Audio Describer (watching from a discreet location in the venue) delivers descriptive narration that is transmitted to headsets worn by people using the service. Carefully delivered so as to focus on the most crucial visual elements and not to distract from dialogue, Audio Description facilitates an experience that is more nearly equal to that of an audience member who is sighted. Through intensive, hands-on training sessions, participants selected for training will experience how AD works and what it takes to add AD / use AD to enhance presentations. Upon completion of the workshop, freelance job opportunities exist for trained Audio Describers at a growing number of Chicago cultural institutions that include Victory Gardens, Steppenwolf Theatre, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago/MCA Stage and DePaul’s Merle Reskin Theatre. Workshop participants will be accepted by audition. (Please see below.) WORKSHOP At the conclusion of the training, participants will know: - Who are "the blind?” - The history of Audio Description - Active Seeing / Visual Literacy - How to develop skills in concentration and observation - The art of "editing" what you see - How to use the spoken word to make meaning - How to develop an Audio Description program Format The workshop will involve approximately 30% lecture, 20% video-slides presentation, and 50% participation. Training Director Joel Snyder, one of the nation's first audio describers and trainer for audio describers in a dozen states and abroad, will share his 30 years of experience with audio description and services for people who are blind or have low vision. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, American Federation of TV and Radio Artists, Screen Actors Guild, and a 20-year veteran of work as an arts specialist for the National Endowment for the Arts, Joel began his Audio Description career in 1981, and has provided Audio Description for the Kennedy Center, prepared Audio Described tours for the White House, and trained docents in Audio Description techniques at the Smithsonian and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Audition Material and Notes All applicants will: - Complete a brief informational application form - View a three-minute introductory video that has been Audio Described - Read provided narrative material. (Material may be reviewed for up to two minutes.) - Provide audio description for a short video segment. (The video may be viewed once to the description for applicants to take notes on the visual aspects of the scene.) Please note that the reading of the narrative material and audio description will be tape-recorded for the applicants to review. Criteria for individuals to be selected for training include: * Concentration * Eye for details * Vocabulary * Objectivity * Sense of timing Notification All applicants will be notified about acceptance into the workshop by Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Audition Date: Sunday, May 22, 2011 (noon-3 pm) Monday, May 23, 2011 (7 pm-9:30 pm) Audition Location: Steppenwolf Theatre Company – 1650 N. Halsted, Chicago Equity/Non Equity: Non-Equity Pay: The standard rate for an Audio Describer is $150-$250 per performance. Time Commitment: Workshop Dates and Times Friday, June 17, 2011 (7 pm-9:30 pm) Saturday, June 18, 2011 (9 am-5:30 pm) Sunday, June 19, 2011 (9 am-5 pm) Workshop Location Steppenwolf Theatre Company Administrative Offices 758 W. North Ave, 3rd Floor Material To Prepare: Please send your resume to ChicagoADTraining@gmail.com to submit for an audition. Please list your availability for Sunday, May 22 and Monday, May 23.
