Paper Mill Honored for Programs for Blind

The Paper Mill Playhouse is the recipient of the 2010 American Council of the Blind-Audio Description Project Award for Achievement in Performing Arts for its audio-description program and commitment to the blind and those with vision loss.

The American Council of the Blind is a national organization working toward independence, security, equality of opportunity and improved quality of life for all blind and visually impaired people. The Audio-Description Project is dedicated to providing quality descriptive services of theatre, television and films. The award was given in Phoenix on July 14 as part of the American Council of the Blind's annual conference. 

Paper Mill Playhouse began serving those with vision loss in 1987 by providing regularly scheduled audio description. Audio description is the live objective translation of the visual action of a play in between lines of dialogue or lyrics. Patrons utilizing the service use a personal receiver to listen to a trained professional describer.

Paper Mill Playhouse also offers free pre-show Sensory Seminars. Seminars provide an opportunity for the blind or visually impaired patron to touch key props and costumes and hear a detailed description of the visual elements of the production such as sets, costumes and lighting. Performers also participate to provide voice recognition.

Braille and large print programs round out Paper Mill Playhouse's services for the blind.

"As with everything, Paper Mill strives to be a leader in audio-description, training and mentoring other theatres throughout the state and nationally," said Michael T. Mooney, Paper Mill Playhouse's manager of Outreach and Access Programs, in a press release. "So I'm really excited about this award because it is a testament to the hard work of our describers as well as a tribute to Paper Mill Playhouse's long-standing commitment to cultural arts access." 

The upcoming season will feature audio descriptions of "Hairspray" on Oct. 16 & 17, "Les Miserables" on Dec. 18 & 19, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" on Feb. 12 & 13, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" on April 9 & 10 and "Curtains" on May 21 & 22.   All shows start at 1:30pm with free Sensory Seminars at noon.   For more information about these or any of Paper Mill's Access Services, please contact Mooney at 973.379.3636 x2666.  For tickets to these productions, call the box office at 973.376.4343.

Paper Mill Playhouse's has been recognized three times in the past year for its accessibility programs, including two national awards:  the 2009 Excellence in Accessibility Leadership Award from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the 2009 MetLife Award for Innovation and Excellence in Access.  In 2010, Paper Mill received the Cultural Access Network's "Sustainer Award" in recognition of its commitment and leadership.