Q: Why is Stage Hands closing?

A: The decision to close Stage Hands is not one we came to lightly. But over the past several years in the face of the downturn in the economy, many theatres in the Bay Area began to change the way they provided access services to the Deaf Community. Some theatres closed, others stopped providing access, or began providing captioning instead of interpreting.

Although we have strongly argued with theatre personnel in favor of continuing ASL interpreted performances, unfortunately to date, the trend from theatres has been decidedly in favor of captioning. It seems that theatre organizations need to continue to hear the voice of the community in order to stop this move in the direction of captioning-only access.

Q: What is the future of ASL interpreted theatre?

A: Though Stage Hands as an organization is closing, we believe this ending may well open the space for creative new endeavors, hopefully with Deaf leadership, to provide access to live theatre performances in the Bay Area. We look forward to supporting the efforts of Deaf people who have a vision of what form the future of ASL interpreted theatre might take and come forward to lead the charge..