Hi There,
My name is Sarah and I am the Box Office Operations and Projects Manager at the Old Vic Theatre London. We would really love to add to our current Access offering by adding BSL performances to our programming.
If this is an offering you have provided successfully and I was wondering if I could pick your brain. We would ideally like to know...
Why did you make the decision to offer BSL performances in addition to Captioned?
Did you face any challenges in setting up your first BSL performances?
Do you offer integrated BSL performances? What additional challenges might we consider if we decide to introduce them?
If you don’t mind sharing the information, how much does it cost you to deliver a BSL performance?
Has introducing BSL alongside your other Access Performances brought a new audience to the theatre, or are you finding that some of your Captioned users have switched to booking for the BSL Performance instead?
It would be great if you can help in anyway and I hope to hear from you soon
Best wishes,
Sarah
Hi Sarah-
At Roundabout Theatre Company we've had a sign interpreted (ASL) series for over twenty years now. For us it started with specific programming that resonated with a Deaf audience and we've been doing it ever since. That being said, we do this in addition to captioning because it is a matter of language access.
I can't tell you what our pressure points might have been when we started because I was not with the company then. After twenty-plus years everything runs pretty smoothly! Our audiences are integrated and we have a specific section of the orchestra where everyone sits if they need to see the interpreters. The lighting in each house is permanently set for this as well. We don't have too many issues with the blended audience. If anyone has an issue house management has the wherewithal to shift them into other locations as they would for any other complaints.
Here's a screenshot of how this looks on our website. In Tessi this is controlled by a keyword on the performance level.
Happy to answer other questions you may have. Feel free to email me. Sarahh@roundabouttheatre.org
Thank you SO much for getting back to me! We are in the investigatory stages but so hopeful to role out this year. I may be in touch with you all once I have heard back from our inclusion team but some great insights already!