Daily Inspiration: Meet Coleen Downey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Coleen Downey. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Coleen Downey is the President/CEO of Audio Description Services Midwest. Coleen has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from Oakland University. She has sung leading roles with Michigan Opera Theatre opposite Kathleen Battle, Jerry Hadley, and Judy Kaye. She served vocal music apprenticeships with Michigan Opera Theatre for two seasons, The Lake George Opera Festival, New York, and The Spoleto Festival USA, South Carolina. She has been a soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra MI, the Pontiac Oakland Symphony MI, St. Clair Shores Symphony MI, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra MI, and the Elgin Symphony and Symphonette, Elgin IL. She was the soprano soloist on the Grammy-nominated CD “Hymn to the Sun” recorded by the William Ferris Chorale in Chicago, IL. She toured nationally with “Prince Street Players” of New York for two years as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Coleen has performed regional theatre throughout the United States, in feature films, and on radio and television. 

Coleen is a certified Audio Descriptor, having trained with Arts Access in North Carolina at the North Carolina Museum of Art and became certified with the American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Institute 2019. She started Audio Description Services Midwest in March of 2019 and has partnered with Broadway Detroit and Broadway Grand Rapids to bring audio description to Michigan. 

The audio describer provides an ongoing dialogue of visual events that are taking place on the stage, screen, at the museum, or even public speaking events. Audio Description guides the listener through the performance with concise, objective descriptions of scenes, settings, costumes, body language, and “sight gags”, all slipped in between portions of dialogue or songs. The patron using this service uses a special receiver with an earpiece so they can hear the describer explain the visual events taking place, providing a more robust experience for the consumer. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In 2019 when I started researching what theaters were providing Audio Description for their live performances, I was astounded most were not and still don’t to this day. Even though it is against the Americans with Disabilities Act. Being handicapped accessible is not being fully accessible. You must provide accommodations for the hearing and visually impaired also. I’ve had great pushback from several of the theaters saying they have no plans to incorporate fully accessible performances into their schedules. If it’s a financial issue, there are grants and corporate sponsorships available to cover the cost. Broadway Grand Rapids has a corporate sponsor that covers the cost for open captioning and audio description for the Sunday matinee performance. For the patron attending the performances there is no cost to them other than the price of the ticket. 

One of my main goals is to educate the general public about what Audio Description is and to promote accessibility to the arts for people with disabilities by creating an inclusive society where they may participate in and enjoy the arts. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My background as a professional singer, actor/improvisor led me to this incredible journey. When I discovered Audio Description my first thought was, what a great side gig for an actor. It’s been a joy discovering another avenue to use my talents/skills for such an important purpose. The feedback we receive from the patrons that use our services is truly heartwarming and humbling and inspires us to keep advocating for the arts to be fully accessible for all. 

Audio Description Services Midwest owns their own kit of equipment, which consists of a transmitter, steno mask microphone, and 12 receivers with earpieces. We are the only contractor/company in the state with our own equipment so we can easily travel throughout the state. 

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
TO create my audio description team, I handpicked actors/improvisors Anthony Coats, Emily Clark, and Anna Imesch-Reid and personally trained them in the art of Audio Description. 

Image Credits
Anthony Coats
Emily Clark
Anna Imesch-Reid
Coleen Downey