Münchner Kammerspiele
Accessibility by means of audio description, sign language interpretation, simple language, surtitling, etc. are rarely offered. How can a theatre become so barrier-free that everyone enjoys coming without feeling discriminated against?
| 08.11.2021 17:00 – 18:30 | Participate! Panel discussion with: Lavinia Knop-Walling (performer and podcaster), Christian Pflugfelder (sign language interpreter), Susanne Kermer (performer), Nele Jahnke (director) after the panel discussion, there will be the option to see the show Heidi weint – Eine Gefühlsversammlung with audio description and sign language interpreting |
| 08.11.2021 20:00 – 21:20 | Heidi weint – Eine Gefühlsversammlung with audio description and sign language interpreting |
| 09.11.2021 14:00 – 18:00 | Seeing with your ears Workshop Facilitated by: Lavinia Knop-Walling, guest: Karola Schweinbeck Sign language, surtitles – how does it work? Workshop Facilitated by: Yvonne Griesel and Susanne Kermer, guest: Gudrun Hillert |
Participate!
Panel discussion
“Participate!”, on stage, in the audience and simply joining in the discussion in the bar after the show. It’s not much to ask, but for blind and visually impaired and deaf people it’s anything but a given in the theatre. In 2009, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force in Germany, which is intended to enable people with disabilities to participate in cultural life on an equal basis. [1]
What would accessibility and language transfer look like ideally? This is one question we will discuss with experts with and without disabilities on this panel. How can everyone participate, feel welcome in the theatre and what role do translators play in this? Are new technical solutions like smart glasses, tablets and surtitles as closed captioning useful or do they only reinforce power imbalances? Are shadow interpreters on stage, who openly interpret a production for the entire audience in sign language, an adequate form of transfer for the theatre? What does a successful audio description need to accomplish? Are “accessibility weeks” actually what people want? What do communities want from the theatre?
On the panel, people with and without disabilities will discuss a shared path towards better accessibility.
The panel will be interpreted in German Sign Language and blind or deaf people and people with visual impairments are very welcome – their guide dogs too, of course.
[1] From 2022, it will be mandatory to implement the EU Accessibility Directive in all EU countries: https://www.bundesfachstelle-barrierefreiheit.de/DE/Themen/European-Accessibility-Act/european-accessibility-act.html. Theatre is not yet explicitly included, but should follow suit.
Heidi weint – eine Gefühlsversammlung
Performance
The production Heidi weint, directed by Nele Jahnke, will be shadow interpreted and audio-described for blind and visually impaired people. We also warmly invite you to the panel discussion before the performance and to our workshop the following day to find shared paths into the future.
Ideas and authors: S. Brandes, D. Fell-Hernandez, D. Gaviria, J. Gräfner, N. Jahnke, J. Kappauf, J.-C. Hieronymus, D. Seidel, J. Weber, S. Winkler, F. Wiesner, H. Wolff, L. Wöllisch.
Seeing with your ears
Workshop
Facilitated by: Lavinia Knop-Walling
How can theatre be made accessible to blind and visually impaired audiences? In this workshop in the dark, theatre practitioners and those interested in theatre will learn how to see with their ears and hands, how to lead and be led, and explore the possibilities for describing a visual stage event for blind and visually impaired people. The workshop will be led by Lavinia Knop-Walling. Lavinia is blind herself and works as a freelancer for inclusive cultural projects such as the Berliner Spielplan Audiodeskription run by Förderband e.V. In this workshop, she will raise awareness using hands-on exercises to experience how to engage with blind and visually impaired people in the theatre. The goal is to educate and provide an impetus for a more blind-friendly theatre landscape in Munich.
The workshop is aimed at theatre professionals and translators who are interested in audio description and accessibility.
The number of participants is limited to 12. You can send your application with a short cover letter (3-5 sentences) to dorothea.lautenschlaeger@drama-panorama.com by 25th October 2021.
Sign language, surtitles – how does it work?
Workshop
Facilitated by: Yvonne Griesel and Susanne Kermer, guest: Gudrun Hillert
Hearing impaired audiences read English surtitles. They would be better served with German titles. But why is that not enough for deaf people?
What do deaf people need to have a comfortable theatre experience? Where should an interpreter be placed, is an interpretation on a tablet better than a shadow interpreter on stage? Gudrun Hillert has been interpreting productions at the Hans Otto Theater for many years. Which ones are suitable, how long does it take to prepare, why is it better to have two interpreters?
How can I create German surtitles for the hard of hearing so that they can also be helpful for the deaf? We will discuss and develop a handout together: What should surtitles look like, where should interpreters be positioned, which plays are best suited, why do we need a “Munich Programme” for people with disabilities and how can translators help here?
The workshop is aimed at theatre professionals and translators who are interested in audio description and accessibility.
The number of participants is limited to 12. You can send your application with a short cover letter (3-5 sentences) to dorothea.lautenschlaeger@drama-panorama.com by 25th October 2021.
panorama #1 übertheaterübersetzen, the new event series by Drama Panorama e. V., is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Deutsche Übersetzerfonds as part of the Neustart Kultur programme.