The Kimball Theatre offers many attractions, ranging from film screenings to live plays and intimate concerts. As for assisting the hard of hearing and those with low vision, the theatre is less equipped. But that’s set to change later this year.
Currently, the theatre offers audio playback through headphones, which can also broadcast to hearing aids via telecoils. No captioning services are available.
The new system will feature devices offering straight audio or descriptive audio that details the happenings on the screen. There will also be new captioning devices, comparable to bricks, that clamp onto the seat and provide subtitles below the screen. The theatre plans to have six such devices.
“That pretty much covers the blind as well as the deaf,” Kimball Theatre production manager Todd Cooke said. “It’s a neat system. It’s nice to be able to offer.”
The planned upgrades are in compliance with new Department of Justice regulations. Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act was updated last year, requiring movie theaters screening digital movies to offer captioning and descriptive audio services by June 2018.
“We’re moving toward a much more aggressive schedule,” Cooke said.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation administrators agreed to use gifted money for the project. He said he hopes to have the upgrades ready this fall, ahead of the federal requirement.
“We’re actually really excited about the system,” Cooke said. “It opens up our films to a broader audience.”
Birkenmeyer can be reached by phone at 757-790-3029.
