[PACapitalChapter] Lyric Opera's new SoundShirts let deaf patrons feel the music

[Brian Mackey]

Lyric Opera's new SoundShirts let deaf patrons feel the music


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 <https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/authors/cshepherd> 

*	 <https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/authors/cshepherd> Carrie
Shepherd

Carrie trying out the SoundShirt during a Lyric Opera rehearsal. The lights
correspond to where vibration is hitting on the body as the orchestra plays.
Photo courtesy of Hannah Edgar.

Chicago's Lyric Opera is introducing state-of-the-art technology that will
enable patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing to experience the power of
the music in a new way.

Driving the news: Lyric will be the first opera company ever to offer the
<https://cutecircuit.com/soundshirt/> SoundShirt - which audience members
can wear to literally feel the music - for live performances.

*	It'll be available at select Lyric shows, starting with "The Flying
Dutchman" on Oct. 1.

Why it matters: Lyric hopes the technology will make the theater more
accessible to fans who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Dozens of chorus members and the orchestra during a rehearsal of "The Flying
Dutchman." Photo: Carrie Shepherd/Axios

How it works: Microphones are placed over the orchestra and on the stage,
recording sounds in real time that are sent to a computer where software
translates it to digital data. It's then transported to trigger 16 motors
scattered around the shirt, creating a vibration in the front of your
shoulders, forearms and upper and lower back.

*	The force of the music and voices matches the intensity of the
vibrations delivered through the shirt, so faint singing creates light
tapping near the clavicle while the bass drum is a strong, rhythmic pounding
on the lower back.
*	"People can feel melody, countermelody, the different rhythms that
you naturally have in classical music," Lyric's Brad Dunn said at a press
conference last week.

Lyric Opera's SoundShirts. Photo: Carrie Shepherd/Axios

What they're saying: Rachel Arfa from the Mayor's Office for People with
Disabilities is the city's first deaf commissioner. She consulted with Lyric
on the SoundShirt, which she first tested during a performance of "West Side
Story." She said it enhanced the experience by giving her "tactile access to
the volume."

*	"When I watch a play or a performance, I look for cues that the
scene is about to change, for example, the lighting may change, or you can
tell the actor is getting ready to walk on," Arfa says. "[With the
SoundShirt] I was able to actually hear the music that was helping to cue
them."





Details: The SoundShirt, created by London-based wearable tech fashion brand
<https://cutecircuit.com/> CuteCircuit, costs about $1,500.

*	Lyric has 10 medium and large shirts, and tickets for SoundShirt
performances are $20. Reservations will be required.

What we're watching: Lyric has been investing in other efforts to improve
the theater's accessibility - including audio-described performances,
program books in Braille and large print, and American Sign Language
interpretations of English performances.