New England Newsletter

March 2019 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER TOPICS

  1. Everybody is Somebody
  2. March 26 HLAA Plymouth Chapter Meeting
  3. March 30 ALDA/HLAA Accessible Tour of the MFA
  4. April 9 Access to Theatre: Captions and Community
  5. June 20-23 HLAA National Convention in Rochester, NY
    HLAA National Membership Dues
    New Reason to join HLAA – A Hearing Aid Battery Subscription Service
  1. 911 texting for an emergency
  2. Boston Globe Article: When a Newton family welcomed a baby who is deaf, 20 neighbors learned sign language.
  3. Priscilla Beach Theatre open captioned performances
  4. Upcoming Local OC Events – AARP MA OC Grant Wrap-Up
  5. Accessible Theatre – March and April

 

EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY by Ruth D. Bernstein, NYC Hearing Loss Advocate

Everyone who has a hearing loss has a list a mile long of “somebody shoulds.” How often have you, someone you know who has a hearing loss, a relative or friend said “somebody should”? “Somebody should do something about captioning movies. Somebody should ask restaurants to have written lists of specials. Somebody should make sure doctors, nurses, and administrators use assistive devices so patients who are hard of hearing or deaf can understand what is being said.”

People who have a hearing loss seldom acknowledge their disability. It’s easy to hide the fact you can’t hear, especially if you have a spouse, relative, or friend who is willing to be your “ears.” Very few people find the courage to be a “somebody” and say I have a hearing loss. Please make sure you make eye contact with me when you speak and talk a little slower than you usually do.”

Note from Sandy:  When it comes to open captioning at live performances, everybody says that “somebody should ask for it”.  On Sunday, March 10 I attended an OC performance of the 1940’s Radio Music Hour at the Barnstable Comedy Club.  Linda Kelly, a court reporter, provided the open captioning.  I met a woman there who loved having the captions.  This was her first OC performances.  I asked her afterwards since she needs open captioning, has she ever asked for it before.  She said no.  If everyone thinks that someone else will do it, no one asks for it.  Theatres think that since no one asks for it, nobody needs it.  I ask for it all the time, but wonder, am I the only one who requests open captioning?  Surely there must be others out there who benefit from it as well.

 

MARCH 26 – HLAA PLYMOUTH CHAPTER MEETING

Our next HLAA Plymouth Chapter Meeting will be on Tuesday, March 26 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm at the Plymouth Public Library.  The topic will be:  Tell All – You Are Not Alone.  This will be a rap session for sharing experiences and advice on hearing loss and self-advocacy.  Click here to view the flyer for details.  This meeting is being moved up from 7 pm to 5 pm so those who don’t like to drive home in the dark won’t have to do so.

There will be an optional dinner out afterwards for those interested, perhaps at a quiet restaurant.

 

MARCH 30 – ALDA/HLAA ACCESSIBLE TOUR OF THE MFA

ALDA/HLAA accessible tours will resume on Saturday, March 30th with a tour of the Art of Southeast Asia. Registration is now open. Art in Bloom will take place on Friday, April 26.  For more information, contact Francine Stieglitz at fstiegli@bu.

 

APRIL 9 ACCESS TO THEATRE: CAPTIONS AND COMMUNITY

Please mark off Tuesday, April 9 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Plymouth Public Library for a program called:  Access to Theatre:  Captions and Community.  Click here to view the flyer on this program.  Please invite your local theatre groups, performing art centers, and everyone else who might benefit from this program.   This program will be co-sponsored with Charles Baldwin from the Massachusetts Cultural Council Universal Participation Initiative and Ruth Kahn, captionist at the Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston.

 

JUNE 20-23 HLAA NATIONAL CONVENTION

This year’s HLAA National Convention will be held in Rochester, NY.  Click here for more information.

Anyone who wishes to attend the National Convention and has never done so before can apply for our chapter scholarship.  This includes the registration fees for the convention. The following information is requested:

  1. Consideration for this scholarship is being given to recipients with financial constraints who would not be able to afford to attend the HLAA convention without the scholarship. Describe in your own words your financial status to establish your need (no documentation is required).
  2. Describe your commitment and contributions to HLAA either at the national, state or local chapter level (this may include elected and volunteer positions and activities).
  3. What do you hope you will learn, gain and experience by attending the convention?
  4. Besides financial need, what is the greatest challenge that your hearing loss presents to you on a daily basis that you hope the convention will address?

All scholarship applicants must be HLAA National Members.

 

HLAA MEMBERSHIP DUES
National membership is $35 a year for an individual and $45 for a couple/family.  Click here to join.

At our next meeting on March 26, when you walk in the door, we’ll have a table where you can sign up for HLAA national membership.  Veterans get one year free.

NEW HLAA MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT
Another reason to join HLAA is there’s a new hearing aid and cochlear implant battery subscription service, called hearOclub.  With hearOclub, you’ll never run out of batteries again.  Click here for details.

 

911 TEXTING FOR EMERGENCIES

On December 14, 2018, Text-to-9-1-1 was deployed across the Commonwealth. This is one of the most exciting changes for accessibility to emergency services in more than 20 years. When a citizen sends a text message to 9-1-1, it will be routed to an emergency call center based on the location information provided by the carrier. For this reason, when a citizen sends a Text-to-9-1-1, they should make every effort to text the town name, address or location that they are located in.

For more information about this new service, click here.

 

BOSTON GLOBE ARTICLE

If you haven’t read the Boston Globe article from February 12, do so now – it will make you feel good! Click here for Boston Globe article: When a Newton family welcomed a baby who is deaf, 20 neighbors learned sign language.

 

PRICILLA BEACH THEATRE OPEN CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES

The Priscilla Beach Theatre (https://www.pbtheatre.org/) has agreed to provide open captioning for each of their six productions on the first Sunday matinee (2 pm) of each production.  I have two tickets for the June 2 performance of Heathers – the Musical that I’m unable to use and would like to sell them.  Tickets are $29 each.  If you’re interested, please contact me at sspekman@gmail.com.

 

UPCOMING LOCAL OC EVENTS: AARP MA OC GRANT WRAP-UP:

 

Spire Center for the
Performing Arts		 25 1/2 Court Street
Plymouth		 Amanda Carr with MYANNA
and the Ken Clark Organ Trio		 Saturday, March 23 8:00 PM
Plymouth Public Library 132 South Street
Plymouth		 The Harper and the Mistral Friday, March 29 2:00 PM
Duxbury PAC 73 Alden St.
Duxbury		 Army Band Sunday, March 31 3:00 PM
Plymouth Public Library 132 South Street
Plymouth		 Access to Theatre:
Captioning and Community		 Tuesday, April 9 5:30 PM
Spectacle Management
at Memorial Hall		 83 Court St.
Plymouth		 One Night of Queen Thursday, April 11 8:00 PM
Spire Center for the
Performing Arts		 25 1/2 Court Street
Plymouth		 Marc Cohn Saturday April 13 8:00 PM
Cape Cod Theatre Com.
Harwich Junior Theatre		 105 Division St,
West Harwich, MA		 Tuck Everlasting Sunday, April 14 2:00 PM

 

The above dates are for open captioned performances.  Please note:  For the March 23, April 11, and April 14 dates, I’ve requested remote CART – or remote Communication Access Realtime Translation, which is remote captioning.  Remote CART has not been confirmed yet but I’m still working on securing it.  If you plan to attend on March 23, April 11, and/or April 14, please check with me to make sure that remote CART has been successfully set up.  A script of the songs might be substituted instead of remote CART, but I don’t know this as type this up.  Please contact the venue to ask about the captioning.  You can also ask me at sspekman@gmail.com.

 

ACCESSIBLE THEATER – MARCH AND APRIL

American Repertory Theater, Cambridge

Purchase tickets at 617-547-8300 or by email at Access@amrep.org

Endlings
ASL Interpreted: March 13 at 7:30PM and March 17 at 2PM
Audio Described: March 15 at 7:30PM and March 16 at 2PM
Open Captioned: March 14 at 7:30PM and March 16 at 2PM

Huntington Theater, Boston For more information on the Huntington’s access programs, please call Meg O’Brien at 617 273 1558 or email mobrien@huntingtontheatre.org

Romeo and Juliet
ASL Performance: March 15 at 8pm
Open Captioned: March 20 at 2pm and March 26 at 7:30pm
Audio Described: March 16 at 2pm

Trinity Repertory Theater, Providence, Rhode Island

Open Captioned performances
The Song of Summer: March 17 at 2:00 pm and March 27 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm
Little Shop of Horrors: April 14 at 2:00 pm, May 1, 2019, at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm

Boston Opera House, Boston  For more information, go to https://www.bostonoperahouse.com/accessibility

A Bronx Tale
ASL Performance: April 13 at 2pm
Audio Described: April 7 at 1pm
Open Captioned: April 6 at 2pm

Les Miserables
ASL Performance: April 27 at 2pm
Audio Described: April 27 at 1pm
Open Captioned: April 20 at 2pm

New Repertory Theatre, Watertown. All performances in the mainstage theater are looped. Use the code Audio 18 to get a discount.

Cardboard Piano: March 23 – April 14

Becoming Dr. Ruth: April 27 – May 19