The American Express Company recently announced a grant of $7,500 for Describe!, a program which provides live audio descriptions of Broadway and Off Broadway performances for blind and visually impaired individuals. Trained volunteers verbally describe events onstage, transmitting their narrative to Describe! participants via electronic headsets.

On March 10, HAI arranged an audio described performance of AIDA for blind and visually impaired students from Grover Cleveland High School in Queens. There were twenty five in attendance including students, parents and staff. Teacher Carol Lacks described the event:

"When asked, ‘What was the very first Broadway play that you ever attended? All of our Blind and Visually Impaired HS students can now say, AIDA!!!!!’

"It was a very special day for the students and their "buddies" who participated. Many of them were wearing their dress-up clothes, not their usual school garb, and all of them were very excited...

"The ushers showed them to their seats, each of which had a very good view of the stage to benefit those students who were visually impaired. Upon arrival, each student and staff member was given a tiny receiver with an earpiece so that they would be able to hear the audio narration of the show.

"The narration began before the show did. The students listened carefully as Laura, our narrator from HAI, told them all about the Palace theatre, the production, the who's who in the cast and a little bit about the story of Aida (Laura was careful not to give away the twists and turns of the plot).

"And then the curtain went up!!! I turned around to look at the students and saw only joy and enjoyment. How exciting to be able to be fully involved and to know EVERYTHING that was happening onstage. Blind and Visually Impaired students miss so much because of their vision loss, and it was a rare treat for them to know everything that was going on and more… Laura, who was excellent at her job, made the action come alive for the listeners.”