Audio Description
An Audio Describer specializes in translating visual information into a descriptive text called Audio Description. The primary audience for this work are individuals who are blind or have low vision. Audio Description benefits such individuals by expanding inclusivity and enabling them to understand and experience important visual information independently, providing access that is on-par with their sighted peers.
An Audio Describer’s work may also benefit individuals who are deaf-blind, individuals with other sensory, cognitive, or intellectual disabilities, auditory learners, language learners, individuals with attention deficit disorder, and those who wish to listen to the description while using their vision to perform another task.
2021 PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
I provided live, remote Audio Description for the 2021 Presidential Inauguration with my colleague, Bridget Melton. Together, we extemporaneously described the proceedings as they happened.
Recordings of the streams can be found here.
COVID-19 Memorial Service – January 19, 2021
The Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – January 20, 2021
Celebrating America: Primetime Program – January 20, 2021
2021 US NAVY BLUE ANGELS FLYOVER
Chicago Air & Water Show – August 21 & 22
I provided the first-ever Audio Description for the 2021 Chicago Air & Water Show, this year featuring the US Navy Blue Angels. Sponsored by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD).
AWARDS
Vernon Henley Media Award – July 19, 2021
It was my honor to receive the 2021 Vernon Henley Media Award from the American Council of the Blind Board of Publications for my work on the Audio Description of the 2021 Presidential Inauguration, alongside my colleague Bridget Melton and the Presidential Inauguration Committee.
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION 2020
My colleague Bridget Melton and I provided live, extemporaneous Audio Description for the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Recordings of the streams from each night can be found here.
Day 1 – August 17, 2020
Day 2 – August 18, 2020
Day 3 – August 19, 2020
Day 4 – August 20, 2020
PODCASTS
The ADNA Know Your Narrator Series BONUS: Martin Wilde
Audio Description of Democratic National Convention
AUDIO DESCRIBED TOURS
Grand Teton National Park – Moose, WY
Manhattan Project National Historical Park – B-Reactor – Hanford, WA
Grand Canyon National Park – North Rim – Grand Canyon, AZ
Manzanar National Historic Site – Independence, CA
Grand Canyon National Park – Grand Canyon, AZ
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve – Copper Center, AK
Dry Tortugas National Park – Key West, FL
Cape Hatteras National Seashore – Nags Head, NC
Carlsbad Caverns National Park – Carlsbad, NM
Cape Lookout National Seashore – Harkers Island, NC
Saguaro National Park – Tucson, AZ
Apostle Islands, Michigan Island Lighthouse – Bayfield, WI
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum – Hyde Park, NY
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site – Little Rock, AR
The Benjamin Franklin Museum – Philadelphia, PA
Booker T. Washington National Monument – Rocky Mount, VA
Fort Davis National Historic Site – Fort Davis, TX
Cowpens National Battlefield – Gaffney, SC
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve – Strong City, KS
Fort Smith National Historic Site – Fort Smith, AR
Museum of Florida History – Tallahassee, FL
FEATURE FILMS
If Beale Street Could Talk
King Lear (Peter Brook, 1971)
Kiki
Out in the Night
Atta Girl, Kelly!
Hayden and Her Family
No Small Matter
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
Guide Dogs for the Blind – Magic Video (Audio Described)
Guide Dogs for the Blind and The Seeing Eye Airport Video
Audio-Described Performances | Goodman Theatre
The Seeing Eye: Coming Home
The Seeing Eye: Partners in Travel
The Seeing Eye: Restaurant PSA
The Seeing Eye Mural
Old joke, now a beer commercial
ADA 25 Chicago: Moving Inclusion Forward
ADA 25th Anniversary Recap
ADA 25 Chicago Launch Video
TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION
KENNEDY CENTER – LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE IN ARTS AND DISABILITY (LEAD) CONFERENCE
Developing Audio Description Skills Workshop – National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.
Facing the Challenge Workshop – Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND CONFERENCE
Audio Description Institute – Columbus, OH
Audio Description Project Conference – Las Vegas, NV
PAST LIVE PERFORMANCES
THE CHICAGO HUMANITIES FESTIVAL
Golem Girl: Riva Lehrer in Conversation with David Mitchell
Sara Hendren: Design and Adaptive Technologies
Adrienne Mayor: Gods and Robots
Joshua Miele: Visualizing Accessibility
LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO
Macbeth – L’elisir d’amore – Pique Dame – Madama Butterfly – The Three Queens – Don Giovanni –
Dead Man Walking – The Barber of Seville – Luisa Miller – West Side Story – Ariodante – La traviata – Elektra –
La bohème – Cendrillon – Il Trovatore – Siegfried – Idomeneo – Jesus Christ Superstar – Faust – Così fan tutte –
I Puritani – Turandot – Die Walküre – Rigoletto – Orphée et Eurydice – My Fair Lady – Eugene Onegin – Carmen –
Norma – Die Zauberflöte – Les Troyens – Don Quichotte – Lucia di Lammermoor – Das Rheingold – The King & I –
Nabucco – Romeo and Juliet – Der Rosenkavalier – Bel Canto (World Premiere) – The Merry Widow – Wozzeck –
Cinderella – Le nozze di Figaro – Carousel
BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Hamilton – Les Misérables – Dear Evan Hansen – Aladdin – Something Rotten – The King & I
GOODMAN THEATRE
Roe – The Music Man – How to Catch Creation – A Christmas Carol – We’re Only Alive a Short Amount of Time –
Support Group for Men – Blind Date – Ah, Wilderness! – Objects in the Mirror – Uncle Vanya – Gloria –
Wonderful Town
LOOKINGGLASS THEATRE
The Steadfast Tin Soldier – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – Act(s) of God – 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas –
Plantation! – Hard Times – Moby Dick 2017 – Beyond Caring – Mr. & Mrs. Pennyworth – Life Sucks –
Thaddeus and Slocum – Treasure Island – Moby Dick – Title and Deed – Lookingglass Alice – Death Tax
COURT THEATRE
The Mousetrap – Oedipus Rex – King Hedley II – The Adventures of Augie March –
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf – Photograph 51 –
Frankenstein – Radio Golf – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – All My Sons – The Belle of Amherst –
Five Guys Named Moe – Harvey – The Hard Problem
THE SECOND CITY
Best of The Second City
DRURY LANE THEATRE
Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins – The Color Purple – And Then There Were None – Matilda –
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown – Mamma Mia! – Beauty and the Beast – Little Shop of Horrors –
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – South Pacific – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – A Christmas Carol –
Chicago – Saturday Night Fever – Crazy for You – Smokey Joe’s Cafe – Deathtrap –
Hazel (World Premiere Musical) – Bye Bye Birdie – White Christmas – Peter and the Star Catcher
STEPPENWOLF THEATRE
The Compass (Steppenwolf for Young Adults) – Domesticated – The Herd – This is Modern Art (SYA) –
Russian Transport – Animal Farm (SYA) – The Wheel – The Birthday Party
@ THE STEPPENWOLF GARAGE
Richard III (The Gift Theatre) – Charm (Northlight Theatre) – Black Top Sky (Theatre Seven of Chicago)
CHIMERA ENSEMBLE
How to Live on Earth
VICTORY GARDENS THEATER
If I Forget – Fun Home – Native Gardens – Hand To God – The House That Will Not Stand –
Kris Lenzo Ripped (Crip Slam) – Never The Sinner – An Issue of Blood – The Gospel of Lovingkindness –
The Testament of Mary – Rest
STEEP THEATRE
Red Rex – Birdland – Earthquakes in London – Wastwater – The Few – The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle –
The Vandal
CHICAGO OPERA THEATRE
Freedom Ride – The Scarlet Ibis – Iolanta
SIDESHOW THEATRE
X – Something Clean – The Ridiculous Darkness – HeLa – Tilikum – You For Me For You – truth and reconciliation –
Give It All Back – The Happiest Place on Earth – Mai Dang Lao – No More Sad Things
JACKALOPE THEATRE
In the Canyon – Franklinland
THE PUBLIC THEATRE – New York, NY
Tiny Beautiful Things – Troilus and Cressida
RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL – New York, NY
Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring The Rockettes presented by Chase –
New York Spectacular starring The Rockettes presented by Chase
AMERICAN THEATRE COMPANY
We’re Gonna Be Okay – T. – Picnic
CHICAGO CHILDREN’S THEATRE
The Magic City (World Premiere) – Seedfolks – Jabari Dreams of Freedom – Wonderland
THE NEO-FUTURISTS
Writing & Performing the Two-Minute Play – These 30 Plays – Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind –
Access Project Student Showcase
REMY BUMPPO THEATRE COMPANY
Frankenstein – Puff: Believe It or Not – The Skin of Our Teeth – Born Yesterday – Pygmalion –
Pirandello’s Henry IV – The Life of Galileo
THE THEATRE SCHOOL AT DePAUL UNIVERSITY
LUCHADORA! – The Wong Kids in The Secret of the Space Chupacabra, GO! – The Cat in the Hat –
Into the Woods – Mrs. Phu’s Cleansing Juices – Lady from the Sea
DePAUL OPERA THEATRE
The Merry Widow
LIFELINE THEATRE
Giggle, Giggle, Quack
THE NEW COLONY
Stanley in the Name of Love – Plastic Revolution – Orville and Wilbur Did It!
IDLE MUSE THEATRE
The Woman Who Amuses Herself
TWO PENCE THEATRE
A Midsummer Nights Dream
HALCYON THEATRE
Dreams of the Penny Gods
STEP UP PRODUCTIONS
Crimes of the Heart
THEATER WIT
Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England
AMERICAN BLUES THEATER
Hank Williams: Lost Highway (Musical)
JOHN G. SHEDD AQUARIUM
One World (Aquatic Show)
BROOKFIELD ZOO
Festival of Flight – Dolphins in Action
RELATED EXPERIENCE
THE CHICAGO LIGHTHOUSE
Volunteer Reader – Chicagoland Radio Information Service (CRIS)
CRIS provides daily readings of newspapers and periodicals including news stories, sales circulars, and classified listings for listeners with a wide range of disabilities.