Open captioning is coming to Keller Auditorium for the 2011-12 Fred Meyer Broadway Across America season, thanks to a partnership between Portland Center for the Performing Arts and Theatre Development Fund. Open captioning is an alternate form of accessibility for the estimated 30 million Americans who are hard of hearing or deaf, and specifically for the 98 percent who do not use American Sign Language. PCPA is the first venue in Portland to offer open captioning to its patrons. The new program will kick off Aug. 28 with the hit musical "Mamma Mia!"
“We are delighted to be partnering with Theatre Development Fund,” said Robyn Williams, PCPA executive director. “Hearing loss is something that impacts a large number of our patrons and adding open captioning will allow us to broaden the range of accessible services that we provide at our facilities for the deaf and hard of hearing.”
Open captioning is a service for patrons with hearing loss that uses a text display to provide a simultaneous translation of dialogue and lyrics during a live performance, as well as a description of any sound effects on stage. The service is open to everyone for viewing in a designated seating area without any special equipment needed by the audience member. Because of this, open captioning is considered passive assistance and is part of the Universal Design concept, which means that it can be used by all people, regardless of age and ability. c2 (caption coalition) inc., a pioneer in live performance captioning, will provide the open captioning services at Keller Auditorium.
PCPA also worked with Oregon Communication Access Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advocate for the proliferation of captioning to enhance the lives of people with hearing loss. "OR-CAP is pleased PCPA is responding in such a positive way to our request for the captioning of live performances; this will greatly enhance the theater-going experience for the thousands of us with hearing loss in the Portland metro area," said David Viers, president of OR-CAP.
Open captioning will be available at the 6:30 p.m. performances on these dates during the 2011-12 Broadway season:
- "Mamma Mia!" – Aug. 28
- "Shrek the Musical" – Sept. 18
- "Westside Story" – Jan. 8, 2012
- "Beauty and the Beast" – Feb. 19, 2012
- "Wicked" – March 25, 2012
- "Million Dollar Quartet" – May 27, 2012
- "Jersey Boys" – Aug. 5, 2012
Tickets for open caption seating can be purchased in person at the PCPA Box Office (1111 SW Broadway), by emailing [email protected] or by calling 503-248-4335. Tickets can also be purchased through the Portland Opera Box Office by calling 503-241-1802 or (toll free) 1-866-739-6737.
Portland Center for the Performing Arts is the region’s premier performing arts venue management organization. PCPA manages the Keller Auditorium, the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and the Antoinette Hatfield Hall, which houses the Dolores Winningstad and Newmark theatres and Brunish Hall. PCPA operates under the guidance of Metro.