Elizabeth Lappano, “Accessibility and Inclusivity in Theater”
Mentor: Ralph Janes, Theatre
Oral Presentation 9:45am Union E280

The present study is exploring the lack of inclusivity and accessibility within the theater industry. It investigates the relationship between audience members with disabilities and their attending of shows in which accessibility measures were taken when compared to previous shows with no accessibility measures. We are comparing multiple pre-built AI accessibility programs. These programs include GalaPro- an application used on Broadway that provides subtitles and audio description, Azure AI Vision which provides Optical Vision Recognition, as well as programs like HARPA which has the capability of providing video descriptions. Through our research, we found that, while there are a few programs on the market that address these specific issues, many of them are inaccessible as a result of high prices, slow-running systems, as well as not addressing all of the issues listed above. In order to combat this, we have started to develop our own programs using open-source codes as a way to integrate these systems into our machines and combat many of the issues that come with using pre-made programs. The study further tests whether or not solutions presently enlisted in theaters can achieve the proposed goals, as well as other possible plans of study that can solve these issues of inclusivity. To answer these questions, during our 2023 theater season, we integrated different accessibility measures into our live shows, and are currently exploring further paths of inclusivity. In our previous theater season, we enlisted the help of ASL interpreters, to live-interpret our showing of Sweat, a contemporary play written by Lynn Nottage. By doing this, we found a way to combine the worlds of hearing theatre with deaf culture. We plan to continue this study to find more ways of combining inclusivity and theatre.