Jeanell English, AMPAS executive vice president, impact and inclusion, unveiled what measures are returning from last year’s show and how Hollywood’s biggest night will be more accessible than ever.
Interpretation on this year’s carpet, which will also see audio description and continued ramp access for all attendees as part of the pre-show event’s outside custom design, was inspired in part by work at the last 2 Grammys as well as the voices of the Academy’s newly launched disability affinity group.
Jeanell English, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ executive vice president, impact and inclusion, says that this is one of the organization’s most inclusive and diverse resource groups.
Those working and walking this year’s carpet will have access to that pool of ASL interpreters, who will work to enable talent and reporters can better engage Deaf fans and viewers. A red carpet access guide will also be distributed to all press, who can use it to help guide their pre-show coverage, both with the talent and for the show’s at-home audience. “It’s one thing to have an ASL interpreter to the side of you, but if they’re not visible, that’s not really engaging the community,” English says, acknowledging that the Academy’s goal is to encourage interviewers to fully consider and utilize the available accessibility measures.
“We addressed with the different CEOs and publicists that this will be available on-site, so we’re hoping the advocacy comes from several spaces and places, such as in-frame ASL interpreters when the talent chooses to walk with an interpreter,” English added.
“But the other reason we distributed this guide to those working the red carpet from the press side is to offer a little more information on how you can make your show as accessible as possible, down to the descriptions that you are using in an interview, in addition to how you might be directing a question or a conversation.”
Hosted once again at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre, the show — which airs at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on ABC — will feature live captions and audio descriptions as part of the broadcast.
As part of the 2023 show, the description team will now feature a blind audio describer, a hire “felt important” in terms of the “expertise and experience” that individual will bring to the service the show provides. It also acts as a step toward answering ongoing calls for disability inclusion to be reflected not just in measures, but in the staffing of the show.
The free ASL Livestream, which debuted last year and was available through the Academy’s YouTube Channel, will also return with updates to again allow Deaf viewers to access the entire telecast through the ceremony’s second-screen approach.
In addition to adjusting where the interpreter will be streamed in the ceremony space — “so it’s not as high traffic,” English says — the show also worked with the same livestream team as last year to address the delays users highlighted as part of their 2022 experience.
The Academy has looked into reaching out to different influencers, who can help spread the message about their accessibility offerings like the ASL stream, with the Oscars social media team also promoting accessibility measures and utilizing alt-text for images alongside captioning for video content.
Within the theater, the Academy has brought back its onsite accessibility team to support an inclusive and accessible guest experience, with additional training for Dolby Theatre staff by LaVant Consulting, which also helped the Grammys ensure their carpet was accessible.
“In addition to really training our core team, of about 15 individuals — including our interpreter teams on the ground — they are also facilitating a training for the Dolby ushers,” English says, noting that training took place Tuesday. “It was important for us to make sure there is better awareness for anyone who might be engaging with our guests on disability and accessibility — little tips, tricks, things to be mindful of — whether it’s language or how to interact with the service animals.”
“In the online ticketing portal, we’ve made direct and specific location for individuals to indicate what sort of access requests they might have — and we gave examples. So whether that’s access to the lactation room or ‘Can you give me a call? I want to understand a little bit more about the arrival?’” English adds. “Our team is receiving as much information up front, because of course, that makes us tighter on the day of but, also, we’re here to support.”
Once seated, those in the theater can use assistive listening devices, captioned video packages, the aforementioned lactation rooms, all-gender accessible bathrooms, and a digital program compatible with screen-reading devices.
“We added a QR code to accompany our program that gets distributed to the audience and the attendees of the show last year, and this year, we’re continuing with that, because we got really great feedback from some of the attendees who were like, ‘Oh, I can actually zoom in and be able to engage with the program and follow along with with other guests,’” English recalls.
While the show has mostly expanded versus swapping their offerings, one thing that may be noticeably different during the telecast is a stage wheelchair lift. It’s a different approach to accessible stage design than the visible ramp of years past, and was posed to this year’s producers and production crew. English promises that for wheelchair users and those who take the stage with mobility conditions, it will “feel seamlessly integrated with the design, the functionality, the experience of the stage” isn’t something “separate.”
It’s a design that was seen in early iterations and previewed in its completed form by the Academy’s disability affinity group members, who English says all met at the end of last year to discuss access for the Oscars and what that would look like. This group was integral to many of the additions and improvements the Oscars will feature in terms of accessibility — including an added description in the show’s program “for anyone who might be triggered by light.”
“The breadth of disability representation that showed up and said, I want to talk about this, at least as Academy members, was quite large,” she says, noting those who are physically disabled, neurodiverse, and have children with or their own learning and mental health disabilities, were part of the discussions. “I do hope the formation of these affinity groups will inform what we’re doing year-round to promote access and to facilitate conversation and to reduce stigma.”
