Visual Awareness (Blind & Partially Sighted Awareness) for Theatre Practitioners - Session Overview

This interactive session equips theatre practitioners with the understanding, language, and practical tools to create more welcoming and equitable experiences for blind and partially sighted audiences, artists and colleagues. Grounded in lived experience and sector-specific examples, it focuses on the everyday moments that shape access, from communication and wayfinding to front of house support and inclusive rehearsal and production practices.

Core training outcomes

• Insight into the foundations of inclusive practice.

• Understanding of lived experience, to avoid unintentional exclusion in everyday practice.

• How to create accessible physical and digital spaces, enabling blind clients, colleagues and patrons to navigate and participate equitably.

• Confidence to welcome and communicate appropriately with blind and partially sighted individuals.

• How to guide blind and partially sighted individuals safely and respectfully.

• How to work inclusively with blind and partially sighted artists and colleagues, including practical adjustments and shared responsibility.

About Michelle Felix:

Michelle Felix is an accessibility consultant, trainer, performer and audio description advisor, and the Founder of Michelle Felix Group. She works with theatres, museums, galleries and cultural organisations to make experiences more inclusive for blind and partially sighted people, bringing lived experience together with practical, down-to-earth advice.

Michelle delivers visual awareness training for individual theatre practitioners as well as management and customer-facing teams. She also supports organisations with inclusive project development, event planning and improving the accessibility of productions. Michelle also works with VocalEyes and had the honor of shadowing and working alongside leading audio describer and trainer Roz Chalmers MBE at the National Theatre, which helped shape her approach to best practice audio description.

As a performer, Michelle understands the realities of rehearsal rooms and production settings. She has experience performing in productions and consulting on access for both touring and venue-based work. Her style is friendly, collaborative and focused on helping teams build confidence and make access part of everyday practice.

Audio Description 101 - Session Overview

Roz Chalmers has been an audio describer for over 25 years, training at the National Theatre in 1998 and going on as a freelance describer to work on drama, comedy, musicals, opera, ballet, contemporary dance, disability theatre and circus, as well as in museums, galleries and heritage sites. She describes films and TV and the streamed service NT at Home and regularly hosts online skill-building sessions for describers.

She has trained audio describers in the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Canada and the US, in all the different genres. 

Her presentation, Audio Description 101, will introduce the four main structures of theatre audio description: the audio introduction, the touch tour, the through description and the technology. There'll be opportunities to test your powers of observation and your editorial skills, and to ask any questions about incorporating description into your own work.