Think Outside the Vox APRIL 2025

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THINK OUTSIDE THE VOX

April 2025 Newsletter

A white box with a capital letters in black V, a purple and square shaped O, and an X slightly overlapping

VOX is in full bloom! Purple Flowers to Purple Powered performances happening this spring. Think Outside the Vox is leading the charge with theater accessibility education at Open Door Theater and The Huntington; upcoming presentation at ABLE Assembly at Berklee College of Music; plus, a shoutout to our friends at Abilities Dance Boston.

All images have alt text embedded. All content on our socials have image descriptions, alt text, captions, descriptive transcripts and/or links to supportive access materials. Prefer a plain text version of this newsletter? Email Olivia@ThinkOutsideTheVox.org.

The PROM cast bowing - they are in prom outfits which feature patterns, colors and sparkle. Some of the cast extend hands out to the audience, and on the left is the ASL team with hands waving and smiling, showing “I love you” hands to the crowd.

Open Door Theater and Think Outside The Vox brought Disability Justice and Joy to the stage at The PROM: School Edition with ASL-interpreted, Audio Described, sensory-friendly/relaxed performances. This show had a timely message of inclusion, self-determination and courage featuring an all-star cast and crew of Deaf, hearing, disabled, non-disabled, neurodivergent, neurotypical, LGBTQIA+ and allies of all ages.

Tanja giving a tactile tour to Perkins students backstage - she is holding the character Angie's rainbow cape with string lights and a white shirt that reads "We're all lesbians."

VOX maximized ODT as a Test Kitchen for Access:



—The Audio Description team consists of all VOX cohort members: primary AD Dave Heard, secondary AD Mikey Rose, Blind expert Tanja Milojevic who consulted on the AD and ODT’s new models of AD/ALD headsets: groundbreaking equipment that integrates AD and show audio feed with volume control in each ear.

—Vox and ODT co-led a Tactile Tour with ASL interpreters, sighted guides/describers to showcase the costumes and props – Vox is curating experiences and collecting feedback to develop freesource training modules and materials for Best Practices in DeafBlind accessibility.

—Thanks to Vox’s networks, ODT partnered with Northeastern University ASL Interpreting Education students to offer practicum opportunities for their program – three backstage ASL/English interpreters were on rotation for rehearsals.

Vos DASL cohort members at Open Door Theater's The PROM posing with a cardboard cut out of Emma, the protagonist.

VOX maximized ODT as a Training Space:



—Vox and ODT co-hosted an in-person Director of Artistic Sign Language workshop for the cohort to show the integrated access models throughout the cast, crew, production design and storytelling – a hands-on and hands-up approach to Best Accessible Practices in Theater. DASLs were invited to engage with and observe the PROM ASL team during warm-ups, performance and post-show reflections.



Congratulations to Deaf actor and DASL cohort member Léon Jerfita who played Principal Hawkins, and ASL/English interpreter Jessenia Kolaco who played Staff Interpreter. Thank you to DASL MoMo Holt for leading the workshop and to PROM DASL Kristin Johnson with ASL team Atlas Mirrione, Jess Meyer and Erin McCarthy for inviting us in the process.

screenshot of DASL team smiling with hands and poses on Zoom for Don't Eat the Mangoes at The Huntington

Upcoming ASL and Audio Described performances at The Huntington Theater:



The Triumph of Love

AD: Saturday, April 5th at 2 PM



Experience The Triumph of Love, a complicated flirtation spree between a clever princess in disguise and a prince. The AD team is Cori Couture, Jennifer St. Pierre and Tanja Milojevic. Select April 5th 2 PM and use promo code ACCESSAD for discounted tickets.



Don’t Eat the Mangoes

ASL: Friday, April 18th at 7:30 PM

AD: Saturday, April 26th at 2 PM



Dig into Don’t Eat the Mangoes, a comical tragedy that navigates three Puerto Rican sisters as they reveal family secrets and wrestle with the truth. Both the AD and ASL teams are representing with strong Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latiné roots and cultural competency in Spanish/English/ASL. 



The ASL team is DASL Ivy Vélez, Jessenia Kolaco, Juana Aguilar, Joe Toledo as Deaf Interpreter and Olivia Reinebach as DASL mentee. The AD team is Maria Hendricks, Luis Cotto and Kwaku Darko as Blind consultant and AD trainee. Select April 18th and use promo code ACCESSASL; select April 26th 2 PM and use promo code ACCESSAD for discounted tickets.



VOX is partnering with The Huntington Theatre for its 2024-2025 season to provide quality AD/ASL performances and expand the pool of culturally competent and professional access providers by mentoring individuals and collaborating on onboarding procedures for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Blind and Low Vision professionals.

screenshot of Accessible social media and marketing webinar, with Tanja presenting in the corner on the slide that features Olivia and Tanja's introductions: headshot and self descriptions.

Think Outside the Vox’s Olivia Reinebach and Vox consultant Tanja Milojevic are presenting on Accessible Social Media & Marketing at the ABLE Assembly at Berklee College of Music on April 12th. Do you know an arts educator or musician who wants to grow their audiences and better include Deaf, Blind and disabled communities? We will be there to answer your industry-specific questions on how to incorporate accessibility in your marketing and content. Check out our previous webinar recording on Mosaic Lowell’s YouTube channel; a transcript is available here.

Abilities Dance Intersections V4 event poster. April 25th and 26th, livestreamed 26th only. general admission $35. unlimited free/sliding scale tickets. honoring bipoc and deaf/disabl;ed artists and activists. multicultural arts center, cambridge.
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