California Shakespeare Theater to Offer Open-Captioned Performances

California Shakespeare Theater today announced that it is has been selected to participate in the first year of a two-year regional theater partnership to provide open captioning for the deaf and hard-of-hearing at select Main Stage performances during the 2013 season.

"Cal Shakes has always been committed to making Shakespeare and the classics relevant to everyone," says Managing Director Susie Falk. "Our newly re-designed campus is fully accessible to patrons with mobility restrictions; now, thanks to this partnership with Theatre Development Fund and its National Open Captioning Initiative, we are able to increase our commitment to accessibility by providing services that allow patrons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to fully participate in the live theater experience."

The National Open Captioning Initiative, a program of the Theatre Development Fund (TDF), allows regional theaters to expand their audience outreach efforts to include members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. TDF provides captioning services through Caption Coalition (c2), a leader in best practices for live performance captioning; TDF also provides marketing and audience development expertise to help ensure a successful patron experience. Major funding for the National Open Captioning Initiative is provided by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the MetLife Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Cal Shakes' 2013 open-captioned performance dates, which can be purchased individually or as a series E subscription that includes all four dates, will be:
· June 5, 7:30pm - American Night: The Ballad of Juan José
· July 10, 7:30pm - Romeo and Juliet
· August 21, 7:30pm - Lady Windermere's Fan
· October 2, 7:30pm - A Winter's Tale

Cal Shakes' 2013 season opens with the heartbreakingly hilarious history play, American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose, by Richard Montoya, developed by Culture Clash and Jo Bonney, and directed by Jonathan Moscone, from May 29 through June 23. The season continues with Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, directed by one of the nation's most sought-after directors, Amanda Dehnert, from July 3 - 28; followed by Oscar Wilde's glittering comic melodrama, Lady Windermere's Fan, directed by Christopher Liam Moore, in his Bay Area directorial debut; playing August 14 through September 8. The season concludes with Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, directed by Patricia (Spunk) MacGregor, with choreography by Paloma MacGregor, from September 25 through October 20. All performances take place at the Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda; more information about the productions is available online at calshakes.org.