Welcome to the world of the Association of Social
Promotion "Occhi Parlanti"!
In the space granted to us by this
important magazine, we will explain our activities, which aim to make
accessible to people with sensory disabilities the enjoyment of culture
(particularly theatre), using subtitles and surtitles for the deaf and
audiodescription for the blind.
Audiodescription allows people living
with vision loss to access the content of audiovisual products through the
verbal description of action, scenarios, physical appearance of
characters, costumes, expressions and any visual element essential to
understanding.
The
audiodescription is inserted in moments of silence between a line and
another, in scene changes, and so on, and it can be applied to a wide
range of multimedia channels, like movies, television programs, theatre
plays, guided visits at the museum.
Unfortunately, in Italy the
experience of plays with surtitles and audiodescription are rather rare
and are limited to opera.
For the first time, a program of five totally
accessible performances was put together by the association "Occhi
Parlanti", in collaboration with the Centro Diego Fabbri in Forlì. The
project, called "No Limits Theatre" and sponsored by the Emilia-Romagna
region and the Province of Forlì-Cesena, has benefited from the
involvement of Forlì's Diego Fabbri Theatre where were audiodescribed two
prose performances, from the Arena Plautina of Sarsina, where the service
was applied to
two brilliant comedies introduced in the program of the
Plautus Festival and Predappio's Community Theatre with The Tempest by
William Shakespeare. During the performance, blind and visually impaired
spectators are given wireless earphones connected to the direction room
where a professional actor guides people through the narrative of the
performance.
Each representation is preceded by an introduction during
which biographical information was provided about the author and other
information about the historical and literary aspects of the play and its
origin. Also, before some of the performances, the audience was invited on
the stage to explore through touch the sets and costumes in order to allow
for an easier immersion into the atmosphere of the play and to facilitate
the approach of those who are not familiar with the fascinating world of
theatre.
During the writing of the audiodescription content, we took
advantage of the precious and indispensable collaboration of the Italian
Union of the Blind in Forlì-Cesena and ANPVI in Bologna. Both
organizations have supported us from the get-go, showing us growing and
warm enthusiasm through their steady involvement. The next appointment is
Romeo and Juliet.
from the theatre organization Società per Attori, Teatro
Stabile del Veneto - Teatro Goldoni, on Sunday, December 4th, 2011 in
the Bonci theatre in Cesena. This performance will be presented with
audiodescription for people living with vision loss and surtitling for
deaf and hearing impaired people.
We would be honoured if the
information in this article about our activities stirs up the interest of
numerous readers, prompting them to attend our future performances to
experience firsthand the opportunities we offer.
Our main objective is
to make accessibility a reality ever more tangible and widespread,
promoting social inclusion, breaking down communication barriers and
providing a new audience with further cultural opportunities.
Association of social promotion "Occhi
Parlandi"
ass.occhiparlanti@gmail.com
Centro Diego Fabbri
info@centrodiegofabbri.it
