From The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Kravis Center Offers New Service For People With Hearing Loss When Eliza Doolittle broke into song during Broadway Across America's presentation of 'My Fair Lady' at the Kravis Center last month, the moment was also a breakthrough for many people in the audience with hearing loss. The Kravis Center is pleased to announce a new service called Live Performance Captioning (or open captioning) that will allow deaf or hard of hearing audience members to more fully enjoy Broadway performances at our venue. Open captioning is a text display located on either side of the stage that scrolls the words in synchronization with the performance. Generated by a computer operator to keep pace with the performance. lyrics, dialogue and even parenthetical descriptions of imponant sound effects are displayed in easy-to-read amber letters two inches high.

The Kravis Center joins a growing list of theatres around the country that arc using this technology to better serve guests with hearing disabilities. "I've seen people with cochlear implants and deaf people who have cried because they were finally able to see and enjoy a Broadway show." - Lew Balaban, Open Caption Operator - With support from Theatre DevelopmentFund. best known for their TKTS booths, c2 (caption coalition)

will provide the service at all Saturday matinee performances of Broadway Across America presentations this season, with the exception of Cirque Dreams. Open captioning will also be provided during the Kravis Center presentation of Rent on

Saturday, April 12 at 2 pm. Lew Balaban has been providing this service for 10 years in venues around the country and. he said, in some cases the reaction to open captioning is as dramatic as the action onstage. "I've seen people with cochlear implants and deaf people who have cried because they were finally able to see and enjoy a Broadwayshow," Balaban said.

"They are buying season tickets now" But the system benefits more than just people with hearing loss, he added. The electronic captions can also aid hearing patrons, who may have missed a joke, a line, or a lyric. When purchasing tickets to open captioned performances, people who are hard of hearing or deaf should request seats that will 6rovide optimal viewing of the LED displays. Specially reserved seats for people with hearing loss will be issued on a firstcome, first-served basis. The open captioning will be offered by the Kravis Center as a service in addition to infrared audio aides that are available during all performances in Alexander Dreyfoos, Jr. Concen Hall and the Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse. Receivers and earphones are available free of charge and may be picked up one hour before cunain time at the Guest Services Station located on the east side of the lobby.