Established in 1971, Audio-Reader was one of the first radio reading services in the world. The describer sits in a booth and watches the stage, describing the visual action of the performance. Blind or visually impaired theater patrons obtain a pair of lightweight headphones in the lobby, and can listen to this closed-circuit channel during the perfomrance. Kansas City Theater patrons can be seated anywhere in the audience, and during pauses in the stage dialog the listener will hear descriptions of actions, body language, lights, costume, scenery, and other aspects of the production not conveyed by voices from the stage. No preregistration or certification of disability is required to use the headset, nor is there any charge for the service.
Listeners are free to listen to either channel, or both at the same time.
Click here to see a schedule of performances that will be Audio Described. Other Services Other services include Personal Taping and Fax Response . Pamphlets, newsletters, articles, instruction manuals or other printed materials under 100 pages can be mailed to Audio-Reader and a volunteer will read the text onto a cassette. Shorter documents may be faxed to our offices and we will telephone the sender and read them back, usually within a half hour. Details about these services are available upon request.