Theatre Northwest’s latest feature will allow more people to enjoy their shows.
The theatre has installed a hearing loop, which will help those hard of hearing hear what’s being said on stage and at the box office by transmitting sound directly to their hearing aids or cochlear implants when in specific areas.
“For us this is a system upgrade,” said Artistic Producer Marnie Hamagami.
“We did have a system in place before, but you needed to come to us and get a piece of equipment to put on your head, therefore limiting the number of people who could use that system.”
“The sound quality was definitely subpar compared to what this kind of system can provide,” added Theatre Northwest’s Accessibility Coordinator Heidi Klepsch.
“We did have a lot of feedback from patrons that the sound quality from our old FM system wasn’t enough to actually improve their understanding and enjoyment of the plays.”
Theatre Northwest is the first business in Prince George to use this technology, which comes with some challenges.
“One of the aspects of the hearing loop that can be a little bit complicated is we need local audiologists to actually turn this functionality on in hearing aids,” Hamagami added.
“In some cases the hearing aid may have the capacity to interface with this system, but that functionality might not be activated.”
Funding for the hearing loop was provided by the Prince George Community Foundation.
“We’re thrilled to be able to provide this to Theatre Northwest and to provide it for our community,” said Prince George Community Foundation Director of Development Mindy Stroet.
“We heard this morning it’s the first in our city and I hope this just propels more organizations and businesses to really look at how they can increase accessibility for everyone.”
Theatre Northwest’s next play is the Mouse Trap, which will run from September 14th to October 4th.