How might d/Deaf people and those hard of hearing truly experience live theater? What tools do we have – and what new technologies exist – that can help presenting organizations welcome those who thought that the theater was no longer accessible to them?
In the late 2010s, the National Theatre of Great Britain launched a new technology to revolutionize theatergoing for d/Deaf and hard of hearing audience members. Through captions projected onto the lenses of smart glasses, patrons could read actors’ dialogue right in their line of sight. In 2018, the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University saw this technology’s potential, and via a $225,000 grant from the Barra Foundation’s Catalyst Fund, they launched a project to bring the Smart Caption Glasses to Philadelphia. Through the Catalyst Fund, we at Barra sometimes fund initiatives to bring and adapt novel ideas to the Philadelphia region, even if they previously existed elsewhere. The Temple team specifically focused on adapting smart glasses technology for use by regional theaters, who might not otherwise have the resources for such a tool. This process of creating captions is more complex than might meet the eye. There is often a difference, for example, in how a script is written and how that text is delivered by actors onstage. Programmers work hard to adjust the captions in real time to reflect the realities of the performance, so that a person using the glasses enjoys the same experience as other audience members.
A promising start… and an unexpected pause
By 2019, the Institute had licensed the technology from the National Theatre and rolled it out in partnership with People’s Light Theater in Malvern, PA, who piloted the glasses in their productions. With additional support from the Virginia Brown Martin fund, project partners were laying the groundwork to implement the glasses in two more theaters, but the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused progress to grind to a halt. Live performances were cancelled across the globe and theaters suffered. The team waited and persisted, guided by an abiding belief in the technology’s potential and the positive feedback they received from users.
As doors reopened, theaters were necessarily focused on generating revenue and found the set-up costs associated with the smart glasses were financially out of reach for most. However, early learnings about how to pay for and sustain the technology helped the project team demonstrate to new partners that the glasses are worthy of investment. While smaller theaters generally found initial technology implementation challenging without grant or donor support, the ongoing maintenance for the glasses is comparatively low-cost, especially if theaters can train their own staff to generate captions for productions. The team’s learnings also indicate that regional theaters tend to be nimble and have better awareness of their audiences’ access needs, which smooths the road to implementation. The team continues to fine-tune both the technology and how to best use it, for example by taking into account the differing perspectives of the d/Deaf versus hard of hearing communities and by introducing the glasses to people who don’t frequently use technology.
Persistence pays off
In September 2022, the Institute and People’s Light introduced the captioning technology to the United States Access Board, a federal agency that promotes equality for people with disabilities through design, guidelines and standards. The Access Board makes recommendations about new and innovative trends in access, and the Institute and People’s Light teams were thrilled to share the project on such a stage. Since that point, the Institute has received dozens of inquiries from theaters, universities, and cultural spaces about the possibility of bringing this innovative captioning technology to their organizations. The project partners have spent many hours in conversation with cultural providers, discussing the technology, its inherent challenges, and the importance of embracing access at all levels.
Impact on stage
In 2024, the Arden Theater in Philadelphia deployed the glasses in their performance of Ladysitting. The initiative was written up in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and in total 68 patrons used the glasses across 43 performances. The words of an audience member speak volumes to the power of this innovation:
“For years, I have dreaded attending live theater where I missed so much of the dialogue and music. Even performances with closed captioning were difficult if the captions were off to the side or high above the stage. The glasses made all the difference in the world. I could adjust the location and size of the captioning. With the glasses hanging from a lanyard, I didn’t worry about dropping them. I was totally delighted with my experience! Every theater and movie venue should be using this technology!”
As stories of impact spread, the Arden built on its initial success by making the glasses available on an ongoing basis.
Since the initial launch of the smart glasses, the technology – and collaborators – have changed. With support from Built For Good, a UK company that uses technology to deepen engagement in the arts, captions are now generated through a system called WatchWord Live. Technological advances have made it easier for theater staff to set up and manage the system, meaning that captions can be available to audiences quickly and easily. But the team has been thrilled to see this technology embraced by smaller, regional theatres. As the cohort of theaters using the glasses grows (Hedgerow Theatre will roll out the glasses this fall), the technology has become more deeply integrated into our regional theatergoing experience.
A lesson in innovation
The process of innovation is often nonlinear – assumptions need to be adjusted, and early results and unexpected events force projects to pivot. At Barra, we embrace the need for iteration in Catalyst Fund projects and are eager to learn from our grantees as their work evolves. Though our grant to support the Smart Caption Glasses was originally an 18-month commitment, it took six years for the technology’s impact to take hold and begin to spread. As the Institute and its’ partners’ success illustrates, with patience and persistence, even projects that experience significant challenges and delays can yield fruit, if they have sufficient time to mature.