Performing Arts

The Shedd Auditorium
The Shedd, Eugene Oregon. "With our hearing loops, people now expect good sound when they go to live theatre, here and other places"

Listen to what a hearing loop sounds like (less than 1 minute)

Putting a hearing loop on the stage floor gives all performers with hearing loss a direct, clear sound, without any wires or extra equipment. Alito Alessi, Co-Founder DanceAbility International and Karen Daley perform at The Shedd using the hearing loop (10:47).

  1. Alito on stage hears in through the stage hearing loop and starts dancing. He’s the only one who can hear the music.
  2. Through the house hearing loop: only people with telecoils can hear it in the house
  3. Through the PA – Karen, the “disabled” dancer can now hear and starts dancing. The rest of us in the house can also hear it now.
A temporary hearing loop on The Shedd's stage. Green tape is aroud the perimeter of the stage
Temporary hearing loop at The Shedd, with dancers Alito Alessi and Karen Daley. Permanent hearing loops are preferred, when possible.

Overview

One of the many benefits of attending performances is the inspiration we get from being exposed to concepts, perspectives and ideas we may not get through any other means. It helps us understand our culture and our lives; it causes reflection and brings immense joy. Being able to understand, to catch the nuances and subtleties in these performances is critical to our reaching the full experience of being transported to a different time and place. 

In many settings, hearing aids are insufficient, because turning up their volume magnifies extraneous noise and reverberation as well as the desired “signal.”  Many people report no longer attending, because of the challenges of hearing. But when they use an assistive listening system to clarify sound by eliminating the negative effects of distance, noise, and reverberation, they engage and actively attend.

3 performers with hats in Radio Redux

Performance Stages

Musicians need to hear their bandmates. Actors need to hear their cues. Dancers need to hear their music. And speakers need to hear themselves. They use on-stage or in-ear monitors and other amplification systems to do this. But sometimes it’s not enough for performers with hearing loss.

Radio Redux. Members of The Shedd’s Loop Committee began installing a temporary loop on the Hult’s Soreng Theatre stage so that one Radio Redux performer could better hear the cues, other actors, music, and sound effects. Lo and behold, 3 members of the troupe, including leader Fred Crafts, now use the loop in performance!

  1. The target actor could hear perfectly.
  2. The artistic director and announcer, who also wears hearing aids, found that it worked great for him too.
  3. The guitarist, sitting upstage, just “outside” the hearing loop found that he could hear too because of the spill.
  4. And we told a Shedd patron, who couldn’t hear much when she attended Redux’s shows, to sit up in the front row where there was also enough “spill” for her to use her telecoil!

Possible Assistive Listening System Locations

There are several places, where a patron, performer, or staff member with hearing loss might use an assistive listening system. Below are some general ideas to adapt for your specific situation and need. All require a microphone for input.

  • Board rooms
  • Guest services desk
  • Performance halls
  • Performance stages
Two people at a ticket counter, with a portable hearing loop

Templates and Ideas

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(3 per page, pdf) Coupons used at The Shedd. “I have a donor who will pick up 50% of the cost of a ticket for new patrons. We call it …
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Users will be frustrated if they must wait until the start of your event* to verify that your assistive listening system (ALS) has been turned on and any borrowed receiver
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On the back of your counter hearing loop, either 1) tape this business card or 2) print on labels. Staff can learn and easily check that the counter hearing loop …
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Download hearing loop, FM/RF, and infrared graphics at no charge (this website). Signs are not only required by the ADA, but signs also let people with hearing loss know that …
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(3 per page, .docx) A one-third page template that you can easily adapt for your facility. Then, display it in your lobby for people to pick up or insert it …
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(4 per page, .docx) An insert that goes into every ticket order, so it reaches literally thousands of people each year. You can easily give them information about your hearing …

Templates and Examples

Patron's handout

Patron’s handout for Player’s Theater in Florida Try Our New Sound System! Hearing Aid Wearers Will Not Believe Their Ears!

Fundraising campaign

For a theater fundraising campaign, please see the “Funding” webpage, under templates and examples (this website)

Resources