Comunicación y discapacidad sensorialelaboración y análisis de una propuesta teatral accesible a todos

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the current situation of accessibility for people with sensory disabilities in the theater, an area which still presents exclusión. The disseration offers, as a possible alternative, a theatrical proposal with no communication barriers that follows the principles of universal design, in which the artistic team plays a key role, and the Wagner's premises of a "total work of art". As a starting point, several concepts such as the influence of culture in social and individual identity, the consequences of exclusion, sensorial disabilities, theatrical communication from the perspective of people with disabilities and the current situation in the field of accessibility to the performing arts, were reviewed. To carry out this proposal a qualitative methodology, based on action research and ethnography was used. This approach was chosen because it encourages the participation of all the agents involved in the research. The participants involved in this study were: the artistic team (composed of the director, four actors and the soundtrack designer), audience with and without disabilities (141 spectators, among which there were 30 deaf or hard of hearing, 29 visually impaired and 82 without sensorial disabilities) and the researcher. After analyzing the problematic aspects of the current situation, the design, implementation and evaluation of the theatrical proposal was carried out. In order to create this proposal Chejov's story The Chemist's Wife (1944) was adapted to theater. This process was carried out in four phases: - During the first phase of the study three different scenarios (one of which is the proposal) of the same play but with different levels of accessibility, were designed. Scenario 1 had no accessibility, scenario 2 had traditional accessibility (audio description and subtitling) and scenario 3, the research project, combined unconventional scenic and accesible tools with sensorial elements. The aim of this symbiosis was not only to stimulate the five senses, but also to promote accessibility by involving, from the beginning, the director of the play. In the second phase the scenarios were assessed separately. The objective was to evaluate the audience reception of the three scenarios: their comprehension and satisfaction in relation to the scenario they attended. - In the third phase, the final design of only two scenarios (the one with traditional accessibility and the one with unconventional accessibility) was made. In this design the experiences of the audience of the second phase were taken into account. - Finally, in the fourth phase, both scenarios were compared. Different audiences attended both scenarios, in order to compare them. Afterwards, their level of reception (comprehension and satisfacction) was analyzed. As can be seen, the scenarios were constantly evolving, as well as the scenic and accessibility tools used in each of them, as a result of the contributions of the audience, following the action research methodology. The data to evaluate the audience reception was obtained by conducting surveys, focus groups and taking thermal photographs which measured facial temperature changes during the play. To analyze the data different applications were used: - Excel and MySQL were used for the analysis of the surveys. - Discussion groups were analyzed using the program Transana. - The thermal photographs were analyzed with QuickReport and Excel. The results showed that the scenario without accessibility was not inclusive, which is why it was removed in the third phase, while the other two scenarios were inclusive and accessible. Moreover, the proposal of this dissertation came closer to the principles of universal design, since it made the creator aware of both the need for accessibility and the importance of addressing it from the beginning of the creative process. Furthermore, in the comparison and assessment of all the tools used, the results showed that both conventional and unconventional tools were well accepted; however, the latter created a greater impact in the audience. Also, the unconventional tools proposed appeared to be a useful, well known and economically sustainable alternative for theater companies. Another interesting conclusion is the positive use of thermography as a tool to measure emotional reception in theater. This use, a totally innovative approach of this research, has proven satisfactory results, looming as a potential tool to analyze the emotional dimension of the spectators in the theater. Therefore, from this study, it can be inferred that it is possible to create an accessible theater, either using traditional tools or through a combination of scenic, accessible and sensory tools. Also, to achieve the principles of universal design the implication of the artistic team is required. And finally, the participation of the audience and their point of view is essential in order to achieve full integration and inclusion.