On Wednesday, November 2, George McRae from Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired will join the cast and crew of Sticky Time to audio describe the performance for patrons who are visually impaired. Audio description is a verbal commentary that tells visually impaired theatre-goers what is happening on the stage during the parts of the performance where there is no dialogue, i.e. during fight scenes or, as in the case of Sticky Time the vast array of video projections and choreography employed throughout the entire show. Their job is to fill in the gaps, describe facial expressions, costume, scenery and action sequences so that anyone with vision loss can fully follow and engage with the play.
Marilee Talkington, Artistic Director of co-producers Vanguardian Productions, and the writer and director of Sticky Time, is the only visually impaired playwright and director creating new works in what she calls the genre of “experiential theater.” Her experience of the world outside of ‘normal’ visual landscapes allows her to work with enhanced sensual and imaginative tools, fueling her drive to create theater that can be felt by multiple senses. Though Talkington approaches all of her creations with the audience at the center of the experience, Sticky Time offers a new and powerful design concept that makes the play literally all encompassing, allowing the audience to live inside the play’s landscape.
The set and light design, helmed by renowned designer and Vanguardian Productions company member Andrew Lu, will offer the audience a kinetically lively space in the intimate Brava Theater Center Second Stage. Seated in a circle on swiveling chairs in the middle of the black box space, surrounded by a circular clock-like platform, the audience will gain the ability to follow the action as it spirals around them. Using advanced video and imaging software led by video designers Lloyd Vance and Rebecca Longworth, Sticky Time will break new ground by projecting video onto fiber optics cocooning the audience, creating 3-dimensional figures and landscapes. The audience will also experience a three-dimensional soundscape composed by the internationally renowned Chao Jan Chang and designed by Colin Trevor to emanate above, below, and around them. The use of multiple speakers placed around the theater will offer a layered and distinct world of sound. This innovative team is joined by costume designer Maggie Whitacker, in addition to Crowded Fire’s Laura Brueckner (Dramaturg), and Stephanie Shaw (Stage Manager).
Vanguardian Productions, founded by Talkington, ensures that all of their productions are audio described. For Crowded Fire, this is a first, though hopefully not the last. ”We give a lot of lip service in the theater industry to the benefits of diversity and access,” says Artistic Director Marissa Wolf. “And yet, without Marilee and Vanguardian, we wouldn’t have even thought to venture into this new territory of audio described shows. I’m excited to begin a relationship with Lighthouse for the Blind, in the hopes that we can begin to offer more regular access to our work for folks in the blind community.”
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