A.R.T. Announces Schedule for ASL and Audio Described Performances

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) has scheduled two American Sign Language (ASL) interpreted performances and one audio described performance of the family production of The Snow Queen and two ASL interpreted performances and two audio described performances of the world premiere production Wild Swans based on the bestselling memoir by Jung Chang.

Dates are as follows:
Snow Queen ASL performances: Sunday, December 11 at 10:30 am and Friday, December 30 at 3:00 pm,with interpreters Rachel Judelson and Jeannette Ocampo Welch, and coach Michael Krajnak.

Snow Queen Audio described performances: Sunday, December 18 at 10:30 a.m. with audio describer Alice Austin. The audio described performances will be preceded by a touch tour. Attendees for the audio described performances are encouraged to arrive one hour prior to curtain.

Wild Swans ASL performances: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 2:00 PM. Interpreters to be announced at a later date.

Wild Swans Audio described performance: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 2:00 PM with audio describer Alice Austin. The audio described performances will be preceded by a touch tour. Attendees for the audio described performances are encouraged to arrive one hour prior to curtain.

Tickets can be purchased for ASL interpreted and for Audio Described performances by calling the A.R.T. box office at 617.547.8300 or by emailing the box office at boxoffice@amrep.org and requesting designated seats for the nights of the ASL interpreted or audio described performances.

Large format programs, hearing loops, and assistive listening devices are available for use at every performance.

ASL Team Biographies

Michael Krajnak, CDI and ASL coach, made his American Repertory Theater debut with the celebrated production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess earlier this season. He has been seen in and acted in numerous productions in NYC including Off-Off Broadway at the New York Deaf Theatre, Ltd. in The Mystery of Irma Vep. He has consulted for many theatre productions in the New England area over the past 13 years including at Providence Performing Arts Center, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Perishable Theatre, Foothills Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, Stoneham Theatre, Boston University Theatre, The Opera House, and the Colonial Theatre. Among the productions he has interpreted are Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Rachel Judelson is a freelance American Sign Language interpreter in Boston. She has interpreted concerts, plays and stand-up comedy across Massachusetts, and is very excited to be making her A.R.T. debut. Favorite past projects include Jersey Boys at the Colonial Theatre and Valhalla with the Zeitgeist Stage Company.

Jeannette Ocampo Welch (JO) is a nationally-certified ASL-English interpreter, and she is very excited to be joining this team for her A.R.T.debut. JO works at Boston University as the Coordinator for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services and also works as an interpreter in private practice. Previous theatrical work includes L.A. Theatre Works RFK: The Journey to Justice, Dan Zanes, and Buddy Guy. JO has worked with VSA of MA and TX projects with Henry Butler.

Audio Describer Biography

Alice Austin has been describing visual media for people who are blind and visually impaired for eleven years. Beginning at WGBH’s Descriptive Video Service, she described countless hours of film and television programming, including The Sixth Sense, You’ve got Mail, Dracula, The Cider House Rules, and PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre, NOVA, and Mystery. Alice also provided live description for PBS’s coverage of the 2000 Presidential Inauguration. As a freelance audio describer, Alice has described museum exhibits, works of art, presentations, and educational videos, and provided live description of the 2004 Democratic National Convention inBoston. Her extensive work describing theatre has been heard at such venues as The Weston Playhouse, The Huntington Theatre Company, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, The Wang Center, The Colonial Theatre, The Opera House, and New Repertory Theatre.

The Snow Queen, Hans Christian Andersen's exuberant ode to childhood, the classic tale of good's triumph over evil, tells the tale of a young boy named Kai, who is kidnapped by a wicked sorceress, the Snow Queen. His best friend and neighbor Gerda embarks on a perilous journey north to rescue him and finds many adventures on her journey. The world premiere adaptation is told through a thrilling blend of live action and larger than life puppetry, where children and their families will have the opportunity to interact with the story. The Snow Queen was adapted for the stage by Tyler Monroe and is directed by Allegra Libonati, featuring the A.R.T. Institute Class of 2012. Performances run at the Loeb Drama Center from December 10-31. For further information on this production visit
http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/snow-queen.

Wild Swans is a new adaptation of Jung Chang's international bestselling family biography that was translated into thirty languages and sold more than ten million copies, despite being banned by the Chinese government. The story of three generations of women in twentieth-century China, Wild Swans chronicles one family's survival through a century of revolutions, violence, and utopian dreams. This world premiere adaptation brings Chang's moving portrayal of a family’s sacrifice, courage, love, and hardship to the stage for the first time. Adapted by Alexandra Wood and directed by Sacha Wares, Wild Swans is a co-production with the Young Vic in London, and runs at the Loeb Drama Center February 11 through March 12, 2012. For more information on this production visit http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/wild-swans

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is one of the country’s most celebrated resident theaters and the winner of numerous awards — including the Tony Award, the Pulitzer Prize and regional Elliot Norton and I.R.N.E. Awards. In 2002 the A.R.T. was the recipient of The National Theatre Conference’s Outstanding Achievement Award, and in May of 2003 it was named one of the top three regional theaters in the country by Time magazine. Founded by Robert Brustein in 1980, the A.R.T. during its 30-year history has performed throughout the U.S. and worldwide, and has welcomed many major American andinternational theater artists, presenting a diverse repertoire that includes new American plays, bold reinterpretations of classical texts and provocative new music Theater Productions. In 2009, the A.R.T. welcomed its new Artistic Director, Diane Paulus. Armed with the A.R.T.’s mission to expand theboundaries of theater, Paulus and her team have engaged thousands of new theatergoers. Critics and audiences have embraced the immersive environments that have become hallmarks of A.R.T. productions. The Theater has broadened its focus to include the audience’s total experience, providing them with a sense of ownership in the theatrical event. Initiatives like the A.R.T.’s new club theater OBERON, which Paulus calls a “Second Stage for the 21st century,” is an example of one initiative that has not only become an incubator for local artists but also has attracted national attention as a groundbreaking model for programming. Through all of its work, the A.R.T. is committed to building acommunity of artists, technicians, educators, staff and audience, all of who are integral to the A.R.T.’s core mission of expanding the boundaries of theater.

The balance of the 2011-12 A.R.T. season includes THREE PIANOS by Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duffy and Dave Malloy, with music from Franz Schubert's Winterreise, Op. 89, D911 (1828), directed by Rachel Chavkin (Loeb Drama Center • December 7 – January 8, 2012); AS YOU LIKE IT by William Shakespeare, featuring members of The A.R.T. /MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training Class of 2012 (Loeb Drama Center • January 13 – January 28); the world premiere of WILD SWANS by Jung Chang, adapted by Alexandra Wood, directed by Sacha Wares (Loeb Drama Center • February 11 – March 11); and the world premiere of FUTURITY: A Musical by The Lisps, with music and lyrics by César Alvarez with The Lisps; book by Molly Rice and César Alvarez; directed by Sarah Benson (Oberon • March 16 – April 15); and WOODY SEZ, with words and music by Woody Guthrie, devised by David M. Lutken with Nick Corley (Loeb Drama Center • May 5 – May 26).

The Loeb Drama Center, located at 64 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, is accessible to persons with special needs and to those requiring wheelchair seating or first-floor restrooms. Deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons can alsoreach the theater by calling the toll-free N.E. Telephone Relay Center at 1-800-439-2370.

For further information call 617-547-8300 or visit http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org