We’re excited to continue our 3rd season of Almost Live Online Zoom events, hosted by Amy Amantea with special guests.
The VocalEye virtual lobby opens at 6:30 pm Pacific Time for socializing. Amy’s official welcome begins at 6:45 pm with a land acknowledgement and a pre-show introduction with special guests. The feature presentation begins at 7 pm, followed by Q and A with Amy and guests, a prize draw and more socializing.
Almost Live events are designed to be accessible for people who are blind and partially sighted, but all are welcome to join us. Events are free and registration is required for first-time attendees. You can sign up for one event or the whole season.
Watch past Almost Live events on YouTube
Almost Live Zoom Event Schedule 2023 (subject to change)
Jan 18: Push Festival 2023, a preview with highlights of this year’s accessible programming with Access Push Coordinator Anika Vervecken and special guests.
Jan 25: East Van Panto: The Little Mermaid, a filmed theatre performance with audio description by Eileen Barrett. Presented in partnership with The Cultch and Theatre/Replacement.
Feb 1: Your Eyes, My Vision is the culmination of the project launched by Victoria Society of Blind Arts and Culture last year. This showcase will feature some of the artworks created and include visual descriptions and discussion with the project participants. Special guest artists include: Linda Bartram, Ruth Bieber, Nancy Gill, Josie Horsman, Louise Johnson, and Kristy Kassie.
Feb 8: Access and Dance: the Longest Way Round is the Shortest Way Home, film clips from a series of outdoor movement performances with creative audio description from the Arts Assembly, and conversation with special guests Meichen Waxer and Whitney Brennan.
Feb 15: On Constance, a memoir and first-time live reading with author, painter and award-winning actor, Karin Konoval.
Feb 22: OFF/No Program
Mar 1: The Unplugging, a new play about connection, climate change and embracing Indigenous knowledge and ways of being. A filmed theatre performance from the Belfry with audio description.
Mar 8: All About Opera: Chinatown, excerpts from a new opera with Julia Bonnett.
Mar 15: The Literary Cabaret, features 5 award-winning authors reading from their most recent work with musical accompaniment from the 2022 Vancouver Writers Festival.
Mar 22: My Sister’s Rage, a story of grief and joy and how laughter can be medicine, with playwright and director, Yolanda Bonnell. This is a filmed theatre performance from the Tarragon with audio description from our colleagues at Superior Description in Toronto.
Mar 29: The Dark is Rising, part 1. A young boy’s time-travelling fight against ancient evil. When the Dark comes rising, who will hold it back? Adapted from Susan Cooper’s fantasy novels for young adults, this binaural audio dramatisation is a magical journey into the supernatural.
Apr 5: The Dark is Rising, part 2. The concluding episodes of this audio adventure.
Apr 12: OFF/No Program
Apr 19: Szepty/Whispers, a neurodivergent artist probes their family’s silence around mental health, sifting through traces of the past, with writer/performer Veronique West.
Apr 26: Here and Now, highlights from the 2023 Capture Photography Festival with an introduction from the Executive Director and Curator, Emmy Lee Wall. This event will showcase the work of five artists from the exhibition with a descriptive tour, led by TD Assistant Curator of Engagement, Sarah Wang. Presented in partnership with Capture Photography Festival.
May 3: A Day in the Life of a PWD (Person with Disability) and an evening with writer, poet and cartoonist Jennifer Burgmann.
May 10: Morag, You’re a Long Time Deid, this new experimental musical warps, disrupts, and reconfigures traditional Scottish storytelling, ballad singing and participatory community dance. A recorded performance with descriptive introduction, originally produced by Touchstone Theatre and the frank theatre company.
May 17: My Mother’s Story, extraordinary lives of ordinary women. Join us for stories from the community with special guest, Marilyn Norry.
May 24: OFF/No Program
May 31: Crawlspace, a Kafka-esque real estate battle set in Toronto, created and performed by Karen Hines, with special guests from Toronto, Christine Malec and JJ Hunt.
Jun 7: Iceland, an economic thriller set in Toronto during the financial crisis of 2008, written by Nicolas Billon. Additional context and conversation provided by our Toronto pals, Christine Malec and JJ Hunt.
Jun 14: Crip Cabaret, artists from the disability community showcase their talent through song, poetry, monologues and more.
June 21: Year of the Cello, a lament for loves lost and a Hong Kong that once was, poetic storytelling with live cello music co-created by Marjorie Chan and Njo Kong Kie. A Theatre Passe Muraille and Music Picnic Co-Production presented in partnership with The Cultch.
June 28: Post Hypnotic Press Digital Library, a Vancouver based audio book publisher shares excerpts from their digital collection with founder, Carlyn Craig.
Jul 5: OFF/No Program
Jul 12: Another Speed Date with the Cosmos, with astronomy buff, Christine Malec and special guest Dr. Sherry Wells-Jensen, an Astrobiologist and flier on the Astro Access OG flight.
Jul 19: Shaken, Not Stirred, a descriptive guide to the 007 franchise with JJ Hunt.
Jul 26: Indian Summer Festival 2023, highlights and delights from this year’s festival with special guests Pawan Diol and Laura June Albert.
New season begins October 4!
