I was recently given an amazing opportunity to partner with the Overture Center in Madison, a performing arts center, on their first attempt at offering captions. They were captioning the traveling Broadway show Wicked. I was so incredibly excited about this venture, as I have long wished for the Overture to offer captions for their performances. Several other theatres in my state do already offer captions.

Years ago, captioning was sometimes seen as disruptive and annoying. People used to complain they disliked it, and it was rarely if ever offered. That has all been changing. Captions are very much an accepted part of current culture. I frequently hear from hearing folks that they love captions while watching television or movies because it makes it easier to understand and follow. Everyone watches videos on their phones with captions on. Captions feel normal and comfortable now. With AI and other technological advances, captioning has never been easier or less expensive.

When I found out that some theatres offered captions for musical performances, it was a total game changer. It made theatre so much more accessible for my experience as a person with hearing loss. With musicals, I can really struggle with the music and the voice blurring together. I don’t need increased volume, I need increased clarity. Captions are a great way to offer that comprehensibility.

However, when I first reached out to the Overture Center, they didn’t offer captions, even though a comparable theatre in my state was offering captioning. I was very disappointed and honestly stopped patronizing them for the most part as I struggled to comprehend the show. I was very disappointed to be missing out.

However, the people currently running the Overture are energetic and warm folks who are passionate about access. When a good friend approached the Overture with my story, they were excited to connect with me to work on their caption offering. This is such a good reminder of how important it is to reach out to businesses that are not meeting our accessibility needs. I know it can be daunting, and it can feel awful to ask, but if you don’t ask, they will never know what is needed. They haven’t lived the experience. If you inform them of what you need, it opens the door for them to begin to offer better access for everyone.

While it was just a first test drive, the captions were excellent. They chose to utilize a system where a person was controlling the timing, launching each caption as it was needed. This worked out extremely well, with some of the best timing for captioning that I have experienced. They also did a phenomenal job loading the captions- making excellent choices of putting lines that are sung or said simultaneously all on one screen so the captioning would not fall behind. Another neat touch that I had not experienced before was color coding the characters to make it quick and easy to tell who was speaking or singing.

There were a few small snags as one would expect for a test run, with a technical difficulty or two. However, it was an excellent start. I had seen Wicked a couple of weeks prior without captions. I knew the show well, so I had figured I would do alright without any captioning. I had still missed some moments and jokes, which didn’t feel great. However, when I attended with captions, I literally missed nothing. With captions provided, the focus I needed to follow the performance was drastically reduced.

I also heard that some people sitting around the captioning area were saying how they liked the captions and how nice it was. They commented that it helped them when they were confused or missed something. I have certainly experienced that when attending musicals with captions before. Several times, my hearing friends have peeked over my shoulders to read the captions on my device because they are missing something.

All of these sorts of accessibility needs cost businesses money, sometimes a lot of money. It can be easy to feel like you are being a bother asking for accommodation. However, if the business has the accommodation, they want it to be used to make it worth the investment and upkeep. I know that most of the time, when I request a neckloop or a GalaPro captioning device, the accessibility booth is delighted that I am utilizing it. Remember that using these devices lets the businesses know that this is needed and there are a population of folks out there who will benefit from these accommodations. It helps a business see the value. So please, request and use the accommodations, and don’t feel like you are bother for doing so.

While the Overture is still working out exactly how they will implement this system going forward, hopefully, this will continue and be an excellent option for people with hearing loss to enjoy theatre. I think that many people will be excited to utilize captions at upcoming shows, myself included.