Captioned performance of LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

From: Center Theatre Group - Oct 8, 2006

There's a new open-captioned musical coming to the Ahmanson Theater!
And it's only a month away!

There's a PDF file attached, and a press release. The performance is
scheduled for November 5th, and based (in part) on our feedback, they're
going to have the ASL-interpreted performance separately. This means there
won't be signers to distract from the captions (and vice-versa, of course).

There's a large block of $45 tickets set aside for this event. You can buy
the seats directly, or we can buy a block and resell them to you.
E-mail michael@blueskycreative.com on which way you'd prefer.

The last two musicals we saw -- "Drowsy Chaperone" and "Curtains" were both
exceptionally great shows (one won the Tony Award, and the other is likely
to). Can't promise the same for this (haven't read any reviews yet), but we
haven't been disappointed yet!

Please pass this note along to anyone you think might be
interested!

Your theater buddy,
Mike Kaplan

For immediate release.

“THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA” TO BE OPEN CAPTIONED AT THE AHMANSON

Center Theatre Group Will Open Caption a Performance of “The Light in the Piazza”

Center Theatre Group has added an open captioned performance of “The Light in the Piazza” on Sunday, November 5, 2006 at 2 p.m. at the Ahmanson Theatre, for patrons who are deaf or have severe hearing loss. This performance is in addition to the regularly scheduled Project D.A.T.E. performance on December 9 at 2 p.m., which will feature American Sign Language interpretation for patrons who are deaf and understand sign language.

This will mark the fourth time that Center Theatre Group has used open captioning at its venues, and the first time that open captioning will be offered separately from the sign language interpreted performance. The program was inaugurated with the Center Theatre Group/Deaf West Theatre production of “Big River” at the Mark Taper Forum in 2002. It was then given a larger trial run in December 2006 with a performance of “The Drowsy Chaperone” at the Ahmanson Theatre. The most recent captioned performance was “Curtains” at the Ahmanson Theatre on August 19, 2006.

Captioning in theatre has gained momentum and acceptance by theatre-goers since its debut in 1996. It addresses the needs of a large audience of hard of hearing and deaf people, which includes those who do not use sign language, are late deafened, not self-identified with hearing loss and those who simply might have missed a punchline.

Open Captioning allows patrons to read all of the dialogue, lyrics and sound effects that occur during the theatrical performance on an LED screen that sits at the foot of the stage. The caption screen is run live, scrolling through dialogue and sound effects as they occur on stage. Patrons using the service experience the important sound cues at the same time as the rest of the audience.

Open captioning means that the screen can be seen by everyone in the audience, although it will mostly be used by those sitting in the Project D.A.T.E. seating section, ensuring that those who need it the most will be able to benefit from the service.

C2 Caption Coalition, Inc, a nonprofit consultant and the leading provider of professional live performance captioning for theatrical and cultural presentations, will once again provide the captioning services. C2 holds the distinction of being the very first to caption live theatre and is celebrating its 10th anniversary of providing this vital access program to Broadway theatres and the most prestigious theatres throughout the United States and abroad.

CTG’s Project D.A.T.E. (Deaf Audience Theatre Experience) has offered ASL interpreted performances to patrons who are deaf and understand sign language for over 30 years. At least one performance of each show at each of CTG’s three venues is sign language interpreted. Additionally, assistive listening devices are available at every performance for those with low hearing. Open captioning fills the gap for those patrons who do not understand sign language and for whom assistive listening devices do not work.

For tickets and reservations to either the open captioned performance or the regularly scheduled Project D.A.T.E. performances, please call (213) 628-2772 or TTY: (213) 680-4017.

Following is a schedule of Project D.A.T.E. American Sign Language interpreted performances for 2006-2007. For more information, please go to http://projectdate.ctgla.org . Project D.A.T.E. performances include Pre-Play Discussions, one hour prior to curtain.

PROJECT D.A.T.E. SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES FOR 2006/2007

MARK TAPER FORUM

Doubt (at the Ahmanson): Sat, Oct 7, 2006 at 2PM
Nightingale: Sat, Nov 11, 2006 at 2:30PM
13: Sat Feb 3, 2007 at 2:30PM
Distracted: Sat, Apr 21, 2007 at 2:30PM
Yellow Face: Sat, Jun 23, 2007 at 2:30PM

AHMANSON

Doubt: Sat, Oct 7, 2006 at 2PM
The Light in the Piazza: Sat, Dec 9, 2006 at 2PM
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: Sat, Mar 17, 2007 at 2PM
Twelve Angry Men: Sat, May 5, 2007 at 2PM
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: Sat, Aug 4, 2007 at 2PM

KIRK DOUGLAS THEATRE

In the Continuum: Sat, Dec 2, 2006 at 2PM
Dogeaters: Sat, Feb 10, 2007 at 2PM
Sleeping Beauty Wakes: Sat, May 12, 2007 at 2PM;
A Waitress in Yellowstone: Sat, Jul 14, 2007 at 2PM

Light in the Piazz[3].pdf

Piazza Open capŠess Release.doc