11:11 / Theatre Passe Muraille Accessibility Labs
Toasterlab’s Involvement
Toasterlab managed this workshop, providing technical assistance and advising.
Overview of Discipline, Context, Intention
This workshop explored ways of improving access to ASL interpretation and translation during live performances through the use of digital technologies and mobile devices.
To explore these methods and technologies, developers and artists workshopped a five-minute scene from the performance 11:11.
Experience
The scene from 11:11 was presented twice – once to a proximal audience as well as a distal audience who accessed the performance from an app; and once to a proximal audience that included some members from the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
Various methods of improving access to ASL interpretation were presented, including white captions on a black phone screen, video pass-through on an AR headset with captions, and a video of ASL captioning.
The development team also received feedback from the audience.
Development
The week-long workshop ran along three parallel tracks that often converged with one another. On the first track, the performers from the 11:11 production, rehearsing in a space nearby, donated some of their time to help to explore the tech-focused 5-minute scene that was the focus of the workshop. On the second track, an ASL team prepared an interpretation. On the third track, off-site developers built new features for the project.
Performance Runs
The presentation for 11:11 occurred on November 14th, 2020.
Relevant Organizations and People
Theatre Passe Muraille is Canada’s original alternative theatre company, striving to articulate a distinct Canadian voice that reflects the complexity of our intercultural society.
Indrit Kasapi – Production Manager
Eric Read – Production and Facilities Manager
Samson Bonkeabantu Brown – Writer/Performer
Tsholo Khalema – Director
Jenelle Rouse – Deaf Community Consultant
Courage Bacchus – Deaf Interpreter
Marcia Martins – ASL-English Interpreter
Carmelle Cachero – ASL-English Interpreter
Gaitrie Persaud – Community Consultant
Augmented Reality Team, Toasterlab
Ian Garrett
Augmented Reality Team, Cohort Initiative
Jacob Niedzwiecki
Melissa Joakim
Nabeel Kassam
