Title
Accessible paratext. Actively engaging (with) D/deaf audiences
Conference name
9th International conference Media for all
City
Country
Spain
Date
27/01/2021-29/01/2021
Abstract
Building on Genette’s definition of paratext (1987), as well as on Batchelor’s recent seminal monograph (2018), this presentation examines the notion of ‘threshold’ from the perspective of accessibility and demonstrates the importance of accessible paratext and of the way that paratexts are designed, with particular reference to paratextual material designed with and for Red Earth Theatre to promote integrated captions for a variety of audiences (see for instance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjEo3UL_Zl4&t=13s by Esteban and Mével).
Our notion of ‘accessible paratext’ rightfully involves multimodal forms of translation and intersemiotic interactions, in order to provide a crucial point of access for D/deaf members of the public who often feel that theatrical performances are ‘not for them’. It is based on a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It brings together Red Earth Theatre, a small-scale touring theatre company based in the UK with an established track record and commitment to research in inclusive integrated communication with young audiences (with a focus on deaf audiences), and an interdisciplinary team of researchers from across the arts and computer sciences at the University of Nottingham, to explore solutions for the audiences for whom, until now, immersion in performance has been hindered by modes of accessibility that divide and distract attention. Building on Wilmington’s ‘Deaf like me’ report on engaging ‘hard-to-reach’ deaf audiences through theatre and on the Arts Council of England’s Creative Case for Diversity (2011), this article examines intersemiotic multimedial translation in the form of creative captions for the theatre, and, more specifically, for paratextual video material that was created as part of the project to showcase integrated captions in live performances. With accessibility high on the agenda all over Europe, and with a growing awareness and acknowledgement of the importance of promoting and embracing diversity (Creative Case for Diversity, UK, 2011), many issues remain that prevent D/deaf audiences from fully engaging with theatrical performances.
This perception that the theatre is not for D/deaf audiences appears to be driven by several factors, including the fact that many members of the D/deaf community have neither heard of nor seen integrated theatre, and because access to accessible performances is not forthcoming: information about these performances in the form of what we define here as paratext, either does not exist or is not communicated in a way that is accessible, nor in a way that makes the accessible nature of the performances tangible to members of the D/deaf audience. In other words, and to use Genette’s terminology, no ‘threshold’ – no entry point into performances – is provided. This presentation demonstrates the extent to which several semiotic systems (sign language, spoken words and written captions) interacting together, on the stage or on a screen, can provide a much needed gateway to theatrical performances, and how it can take both marginalised audiences back to theatres and improve the shows’ accessibility.
Our notion of ‘accessible paratext’ rightfully involves multimodal forms of translation and intersemiotic interactions, in order to provide a crucial point of access for D/deaf members of the public who often feel that theatrical performances are ‘not for them’. It is based on a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It brings together Red Earth Theatre, a small-scale touring theatre company based in the UK with an established track record and commitment to research in inclusive integrated communication with young audiences (with a focus on deaf audiences), and an interdisciplinary team of researchers from across the arts and computer sciences at the University of Nottingham, to explore solutions for the audiences for whom, until now, immersion in performance has been hindered by modes of accessibility that divide and distract attention. Building on Wilmington’s ‘Deaf like me’ report on engaging ‘hard-to-reach’ deaf audiences through theatre and on the Arts Council of England’s Creative Case for Diversity (2011), this article examines intersemiotic multimedial translation in the form of creative captions for the theatre, and, more specifically, for paratextual video material that was created as part of the project to showcase integrated captions in live performances. With accessibility high on the agenda all over Europe, and with a growing awareness and acknowledgement of the importance of promoting and embracing diversity (Creative Case for Diversity, UK, 2011), many issues remain that prevent D/deaf audiences from fully engaging with theatrical performances.
This perception that the theatre is not for D/deaf audiences appears to be driven by several factors, including the fact that many members of the D/deaf community have neither heard of nor seen integrated theatre, and because access to accessible performances is not forthcoming: information about these performances in the form of what we define here as paratext, either does not exist or is not communicated in a way that is accessible, nor in a way that makes the accessible nature of the performances tangible to members of the D/deaf audience. In other words, and to use Genette’s terminology, no ‘threshold’ – no entry point into performances – is provided. This presentation demonstrates the extent to which several semiotic systems (sign language, spoken words and written captions) interacting together, on the stage or on a screen, can provide a much needed gateway to theatrical performances, and how it can take both marginalised audiences back to theatres and improve the shows’ accessibility.