VOA标准英语2012--Theater Provides 'Touching' Show for Blind

 

Theater Provides 'Touching¹' Show for Blind

The men and women who settle into their seats at Everyman Theatre aren’t here for a traditional performance.

“We are here to take you on an experience through 'You Can’t Take It With You,'” says Marcus Kidd, the company’s education director.

Today's visitors are all visually impaired².

These days, many theater companies reach out to the blind with special performances that provide description of the action with a radio earpiece only they can hear.

Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland, goes one step further, allowing its guests to experience theater in a different way.

“We don’t believe that just because they can’t see a play they can’t enjoy a play,” Kidd says.

Those who can't see go on the stage and become familiar with the set and props³.

Not every play gets a touch tour, but "You Can’t Take It With You," a 1930s comedy with a cast of eccentric characters, was a natural.

“The great thing about the play is almost everything in the play that has to be on stage ends up affecting the story," says Kidd. "From the minute you open the script you get the description of the typewriter, the skull⁴ that is holding jellybeans.”

Everyman Theatre has been doing touch tours for several years, usually for one play each season.

“Because we don’t see, we only get to form images of what we think is going on," says Roger Williamson, a regular of the theater's touch tours. "This will enhance the performance greatly to know what things they are using as props.”

Maurice Peret attended the play before taking the touch tour. “It brought the play that much more alive knowing what the set looked like. I can recall seeing the play and seeing where some of the performers were sitting. We see more with our brains than with our eyes. It’s not a question of seeing things, but assimilating visual information.”

These tours may not generate ticket sales, but Marcus Kidd is pleased to share the theater with people who otherwise might not consider attending a performance.

1 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

2 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

4 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。