Thank you to all of those who were able to attend thisdiscussion. For those that weren’t able to be there the following is a brief summary of issues covered, if you would like to listen to the recording, it is available using the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJMfmIzzu04

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There were 16 attendees at the meeting, Roz Chalmers – who answered questions – and 13 audio description users.

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Roz told us that she had been working in theatre for around 25 years as she enjoys the interaction with users. She has also worked in film and TV. Roz asked if anyone would be interested in her describing herself. She said: 

‘I’m a white woman. I am late 60s. I have white hair in a sort of jaw length curly bob And I'm wearing blue glasses. And today I am wearing a blue t-shirt with a medieval print on it and it's a rabbit riding a greyhound Who's using a battle snail. He's holding a battle snail like a falcon on his wrist.’

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Roz told us that pre-show notes go back almost as far as the first audio described performances in the 1980s. They began because users said they needed an introduction to what they were about to see at the theatre. At that time recording wasn’t so easy so notes were delivered just prior to the performance and often meant people had difficulties in hearing them.

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VocalEyes began in the 1990s and a major part of their offering were the pre-show notes provided in advance. These provided a degree of access even when through description wasn’t available. Gradually pre-show notes, touch tours and through descriptions all came together to complete the package.

It was stated that providing the notes in advance and letting users know how to access them was really important and wasn’t always happening at the moment.

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Roz then discussed how the pre-show notes are created. Audio Describers attend the performance, get information from the creative crew, send questionnaires to the actors, read reviews and other online information about the production to help them in writing the notes. Many providers of audio description will seek input from editors some of whom are blind or visually impaired.

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A few years ago audio description users – including from the global majority – began asking for information related to ethnicity/skin colour, they wanted to know if they were being represented on the stage. Getting this kind of information has been difficult. Not all questionnaires are completed and sometimes this information is left out.

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The notes are more than the opinion of the audio describer as many people are involved in their creation.

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We need more training for actors in drama school to prepare them for audio description later on so that they are not surprised by it and are more likely to want to take part in touch tours and understand why audio description is important. Blind and vi people are essential in that training.

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Roz explained that using labels like British Nigerian or Korean presented difficulties as they don’t convey an image of someone’s appearance. It also doesn’t convey the differences within skin colours, such as light, medium and dark.

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The importance of conveying information about body shape and whether someone had a visible disability was emphasised. It was made clear that not to provide this information would deny the blind and vi audio description user information that was readily accessible to the sighted audience.

Roz stressed that audio describers welcome feedback on all aspects of the audio description service, as it is only that way that they can learn and improve their practice.

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A question was asked around whether there were enough audio describers to meet the demand. Roz stated that audio describers would like to work more regularly but that cost prevented theatres from using them more often. Theatres have shown an interest in the use of AI and recorded audio description to bypass the cost of live description.

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A point was made about pre-show notes staying with a production, particularly if it were one that lasted a long time. This would mean that people could attend when an audio described performance was not available.

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There was a question about why there was only one audio described performance in a run lasting around 13 weeks. It was explained that this would have been a decision based on funding constraints. We were told that actors were paid for attending the touch tour. The numbers of blind and vi individuals who attend are also small. It is unusual to have more than 20, usually there’s 2 or 3 attendees and sometimes none at all. It is also important to note that where lots of things are being audio described, in London, people have the choice of what they see.

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Attendees were reminded that the VocalEyes web site included pre-show notes for productions that weren’t being audio described by VocalEyes.

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It was also stated that the what’s on page on the VocalEyes site includes the option to search through archived productions at: https://vocaleyes.co.uk/whats-on/

 

A view was expressed that pre-show notes on their own could be sufficient in certain situations.

A view was expressed that theatres need to offer a range of dates and times rather than Saturday matinees.

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A point was made that pre-show notes can help where the technology fails on the day and the through description is not heard.

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An example of a theatre was given where staff didn’t seem to know what pre-show notes were emphasising the importance of staff training.

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Providing pre-show notes in different formats was also mentioned.

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Pre-show notes are useful to people other than blind and vi individuals. Roz referred to neurodivergent people who find the notes beneficial.

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The ADA’s funding of pre-show notes provided at theatres which don’t normally have any provision for audio description due to lack of funding was referred to. It was a successful project.

Extant does something similar at www.extant.org.uk/access/productions-enhance

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Thanks to Roz for attending and answering so many questions. Thanks also to everyone who was able to attend and provide so much useful feedback. Paul, Maggie and I will be looking at the best ways of conveying the information gathered to theatres.

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If you have any comments on this subject please email vigroup@audiodescription.co.uk