Innisfail Town Theatre improving theatre experience for all

INNISFAIL - A new technology for the hearing challenged is being introduced by Innisfail Town Theatre (ITT) to help patrons enjoy productions.

The local theatre group added an induction hearing loop at the Ol' Moose Hall at the end of February and are preparing for its use in their spring production of Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling.

ITT decided to purchase the technology after several patrons noted they could not always hear actors on stage.

"Some of the patrons in the past have had a hard time hearing our actors," said Ron Kooy, an ITT technician. "A lot of people that do wear hearing aids or are hearing impaired were having trouble hearing."

The theatre board approved the purchase of the induction loop technology, which is common in Europe and has increasingly seen use in Canada and parts of Alberta.

The system retransmits audio taken from stage microphones directly into a hearing aid or cochlear implant, noted Kooy, adding the technology does not require a headset when used with hearing aids. He said it works with the tcoil, a tiny wireless receiver inside hearing aids to provide clear, clean sound.

For those who don't have or use hearing aids, the technology can still be used with a portable loop receiver and headset, available at future productions. There will only be six portable loop receivers available.

"People that have hearing aids must have their hearing aid tcoils activated ahead of time," said Kooy. "(For those without hearing aids), it's first-come, first-served. They're going to be free of charge for now."

The technology is expected to benefit many Innisfail theatre patrons.

"A lot of our patrons are seniors and a lot of them do have difficulty hearing. We want them to hear us and this is one of the things we looked at," he said.

Kooy also noted the new service may encourage patrons to come out for a show who don't regularly attend the live theatre productions.

"Even for some people who may not normally come to plays," said Kooy. "Maybe now they will because they'll be able to hear the actors."

The technology will be used for the first time in the upcoming ITT spring production of Steel Magnolias that runs from April 27 to May 13 at the Ol' Moose Hall.

Kooy said ITT is looking forward to improving the theatre experience for all.

"We want everybody to enjoy community theatre," said Kooy. "We enjoy putting it on. We want the community to enjoy watching it and not have to struggle to hear it."