Think Outside the Vox

02/03/2026

Open Door Theater getting its ducks in a row for -interpreted and performances of HONK next month! Mark your calendars for March 20-22 and 27-29.

TICKETS now on sale for HONK! Performances March 20, 21, 22 and 27, 28, 29, at the Dragonfly Theater, 16 Charter Road, Acton.

All performances are relaxed/sensory friendly and feature ASL interpretation and open captioning. There will be audio-described performances on the second weekend.

Information and tickets at www.OpenDoorTheater.org.

IMAGE ID: Graphic of flyer with yellow background. The word HONK is made of nailed wooden planks. The letter “O” is a hatching egg with a duckling’s beak sticking out of the shell shouting “HONK”. Original logo artwork by Nala J. Wu.

01/31/2026

New Year, New Website! We are thrilled to announce the relaunch of VOX’s website. Explore our new homepage, the newsletter archive, and updated services and pricing. Thank you to designer Cameron Seymour-Hawkins, our screen reader testers, and the Vox team for supporting and driving the launch. More coming soon!

an exploding purple infographic with black and white text that reads “New Website. ThinkOutsideTheVox.org” with the VOX logo as the screen of the desktop computer icon.

01/31/2026

VOX at 2026! One of the best ways to warm up in the winter is by embracing one another. Being and breathing in community is a reminder that we are stronger and warmer together. Congratulations to Embrace Boston and its successful 4th inaugural Celebration of community leaders and efforts that honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

ID 1: group photo of 4 at the Sneaker Gala of the Embrace Boston MLK Celebration at SOWA Power Station, a large and tall warehouse-like space with bright and bold lighting. From left to right: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a Black woman with no hair wears makeup, a black dress, white blazer and brown heels, smiling with one arm hinged in front of herself. Aimee Robinson, a woman with peach complexion and auburn below-shoulder length hair wears purple glasses, a silver sneaker pendant necklace, a purple blouse over a short black dress, black designed fishnets and black converse, smiling. Christopher Robinson, an African-American man with black hair, medium locs, and a seasonal beard wears purple glasses, a purple and black striped shirt, a black orange and purple plaid tie, black velvet jacket, black pants and white nikes with a purple swoosh. Conan Harris, husband of Ayanna, is a Black man with short buzzed hair and a short salt and pepper beard wearing a black turtleneck, a black velvet suit jacket with a black and white handkerchief, gray pants and gray and white Nikes.

ID 2: Three artists in conversation standing at one of the display tables which has a small golden lamp facing each other with blue and purple lighting around them. Kwaku Darko, a dark skinned African man, 5’8” of average build has short, black hair and a short beard that frames his face and chin. He wears a black and purple dress shirt, black pants, a silver African continent pendant and a black watch with silver around the ring holding a drink in his hand and his cane tucked in his arm, laughing and directly facing George. George Freeman, a Black man with a high fade and a mustache wears silver stud earrings, a black turtleneck, a few gold and silver chains, black suit set and multicolored handkerchief in his pocket. He talks with his arms bent, smiling and talking with hands on his chest and tapping Chris, who is in the middle between Kwaku and George with pursed lips, making all the jokes. George Freeman creates black and white “Art and streetwear inspired by the Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan experience...From street to canvas.” https://fromstreet2canvas.com/ .

ID 3: two women hugging with blue and white lights behind them. Facing the camera is Samatha Gould, an Ashkenazi Jewish woman with salt and pepper hair, who wears a purple leather jacket, black leather pants and purple converse, smiling with an arm around Alison. Alison Simmons, an African American woman with light skin and curly brown hair wears a black velvet coat and crossbody purse. Her back is to the camera and she hugs Sam.

ID 4: Chris and Aimee with Zakiyyah Sutton, one of Embrace Boston’s Artists in Residences and a singer, activist and actress. She is a light-skinned Black woman with past shoulder length brown hair in medium twists and wears a yellow, green, black and white blouse with a yellow woven and rolled tie with circular parts, black pants and black sneakers with a silver zipper on the top. They all pose with one toe inward and red lighting behind them.

01/30/2026

when we mobilize in solidarity to protect human rights of everyone. The Public Theater hosting The People's Filibuster with an ASL-interpreted livestream tomorrow with Hands On Sign Interpreted Performances, Inc from 11am to 7pm. Tune in to stories, spoken word, texts and song on January 31st: PublicTheater.org/Filibuster

01/15/2026

We had a VOX office day! Thank you to Barr Foundation for letting your house become our house so we could continue our strategy work from where we left off with coaches EJ and Marianne at MASS MoCA in November. This picture makes it more special: our roots in the MASS MoCA partnership come from our Audio Description cultivation of the Jeffrey Gibson exhibit there with Board member Maria Hendricks leading. A full circle moment centered around space, sharing and community - just the nod we needed to start the year off, right where we want to be: together.

ID 1: Vox team wearing various branded purple and purple accessories smiling and standing in front of Jeffrey Gibson’s multicolor, geometric acrylic painting described in the next ID. Left to right, back row: Kristin Johnson, a Deaf white woman with short brown hair wears a black turtleneck underneath, Vox quarterzip, black pants and shoes with hands behind her back. Ingrid O’Dell, a tall white woman with auburn hair, blue eyes and freckles wears a purple sweater, cranberry pants and dark boots. Christopher Robinson, an African-American man with black hair, medium locs, and a seasonal beard wears a purple Vox shirt, purple Vox glasses, gray beanie, jeans and black sneakers with a hand on Via’s shoulder. Olivia Reinebach, a Hard of Hearing mixed Latina with olive skin and dark curly brown hair in a bun wears a navy sweater and Vox shirt on top, camo print pants and white sneakers. To their right is Sam Gould, an Ashkenazi Jewish woman with salt and pepper hair wears a Vox jacket, lanyard, purple corduroys and pink and orange sneakers.

ID 2: “Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House,” in full view. The painting has that phrase with each letter painted in square cut-out styles and only vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines to create triangles, rectangles and squares - a pop art style and bright, bold colors and use of negative and positive space. Behind the boxy letters are ombre pink, white and blue thin stripes on the diagonal. The frame is thick with white and black beads. In the corner is the plaque with a QR code and text that reads, “Jeffrey Gibson. born 1972. Because Once You Enter My House It Becomes Our House. 2018. Acrylic on canvas, glass beads, and artificial sinew insert onto wood frame. 82 by 74 by 2.5 inches.”

01/13/2026

VOX is proud to present The Purple Report 2025! Check out where we are growing and going in 2026 - this report captures what we’re about, our partners, mentorships and more.

PDF version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q9wIF8JA8PjtdVSlphysA1hFreZiD7j3/view?usp=sharing .

Plain text with : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1THJ74d-tyFfIKViUp0gbQApGv8Z5nPYgOEmmGo_slCk/edit?usp=sharing .

Join us to build and sustain Disability Justice & Joy by subscribing to our monthly newsletter and stay tuned for the relaunch of our website! www.ThinkOutsideTheVox.org

Image Description: title page of The Purple Report, a black background with white and black text with purple and white text boxes. From top to bottom: December 2025. www.ThinkOutsideTheVox.org. The Purple Report 2025. Think Outside the Vox logo, black V purple O black X. At the intersection of Disability Justice and Arts Revolution.

12/30/2025

Vox is mentoring youth in the arts and STEM, like these middle and elementary school students at Bolted Bots, to think beyond what they know, connect with communities directly, and bake accessibility in their design. Their project, “Unearthing the Indus Valley,” demonstrates the potential for inclusion and independence through tactile learning at historical/museum experiences. Thank you to Voxers and Blind educators and consultants–Kwaku Darko, Mona Minkara, Matthew Shifrin–for giving feedback and encouragement to Bolted Bots’, their presentation and 3D-printed models and materials. Thank you to The Huntington for lending us the space for these young engineers!

You can support Youth Mentorship in Arts & Accessibility by donating at ThinkOutsideTheVox.org.

1: Blind consultants and educators sitting at the foldout table feeling the 3D printed models from Bolted Bots’ Unearthing the Indus Valley project with their fingers. From left to right seated are Matthew Shifrin, a white 5-foot-7 blind guy wears a cream quarterzip, black sunglasses and black facemask. Kwaku Darko, a 5’8” dark skinned African man of average build who has short, black hair and a short beard that frames his face and chin wears black sunglasses, a black t-shirt that reads SpreadMusicNow.org. Mona Minkara, a Blind woman who wears a black hijab and green coat. Also on the table are glasses of water, Mona’s cane, and a laptop open and facing the three audience. Rianna, a Bolted Bot team member, stands with long black hair pulled back in a clip, a blue team shirt, jeans and brown flats, gesturing with hands towards’ Kwaku’s model as she explains what he is feeling. Behind the table are Bolted Bot team supporters and management (family).

ID 2: Large group photo of Voxers, Blind educators and Bolted Bot team members. Back row: Via and Sam wearing purple and Vox lanyard; Bolted Bot team members who are in elementary and middle school most wearing blue shirts Ethan, Myra, Yanhua and Rianna. Front row seated: Matthew, Kwaku, Mona. On the table in front of them are papers with QR codes, two 3D-printed cranes, scale model map of a community in the Indus Valley.

12/24/2025

On the 20th and 21st days of Christmas, VOXers gave to meee: 2 AD shows, 2 ASL, and a group pic in front of the tree!

This year’s Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company was historic! Beverly School for the Deaf Alumni Dorothy Sheppard joined the ASL team signing for Tiny Tim, Blind QC mentee and Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York CCAD cohort member Ash Hicks shipped up to Boston as preshow audio describer, and we hosted one of our largest tactile tours yet. The holidays are happy when it’s Accessible to Everyone. Thank you to our Deaf, Blind and disabled community members for joining us for this joyful tradition.

Video Description: full CSC cast in costume on stage singing and signing the lyric “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as ASL team signs the song. ASL team from left to right: Michael Herschberg, a middle aged white man with short dark brown hair wears all black; Christopher Robinson, an African-American man with black hair, medium locs, and a seasonal beard wears a gray shirt and black pants; Dorothy Sheppard, a Deaf 10 year-old with light brown hair tied back wears all black; Josh Ayoub, a white man with a beard wears all black and a black cap. The audience roars with applause, both claps, cheers and waving hands. The cast gesture behind them as Dan Rodriguez the Music Director comes from backstage on the piano to centerstage to take a bow. They all take hands to take a bow, gesture towards the lights to acknowledge production crew, then gesture with open palms and waving hands to celebrate the ASL team. Cast takes another bow, then some actors as they leave sign to the audience “Merry Christmas,” “Thank you” to the ASL team, and more waving hands.

ID 1: AD team in the box seats delivering the pre-show with devices and scripts in front of them on the table. Ashley Hicks, a Black woman with Albinism with hair in a curly afro wears a gray sweater, black pants and black beret speaking into a stenomask microphone. Maria Hendricks, a brown-skinned Afroindigenous woman with curly black hair blown out wears a purple Vox shirt black pants and headset, reviewing the script on her computer.

ID 2: Ingrid O’Dell, a tall white woman with blonde hair, blue eyes and freckles wears a purple sweater and black pants chatting with Lisa Chin, a Blind Asian-American woman wears a gray coat, red knit scarf and white facemask holding a white lantern case that represents the ghost light.

ID 3: a wide shot of a nearly full front section of the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theater. The ASL team is lit in white at the house left corner, behind them is the scene when Marley visits Scrooge as represented by the drawbridge wall and scene lit in green. In view are two of the four captioning screens which read “I have none to give. Nor can I tell you what I would. My time is nearly gone. As part of my penance, I am here tonight to warn you that you have yet a chance and hope of escaping my fate.” In the left corner is Emit Solomon’s silhouette, a short nonbinary individual androgynous looking individual with short dark curly hair and a patchwork tattoo sleeve, toggling the captions at the computer in real time.

ID 4: Large group photo on stage in front of milk crates painted rainbow and stacked shape of a Christmas tree: CSC stage crew (Kate Carvalho, Kendyl Trott, Madalyn Hatton, Caterina Martins, Nate Kelleher, Mariana Jennings), actors in costume (Peter DiMaggio, David Jiles Jr., Daman Singletary, Kathy St. George, Kathryn McKellar, Jared Troilo, John Pagliarulo, Lily Segal Steven), Access Coordinator Ingrid, ASL team (Dorothy, Joshua, Sabrina, Michael, Christopher), AD team (Maria, Ash, Mikey), Voxers and Vox volunteers (Emit, Sam Gould, Olivia, Kwaku Darko, Allie Dalton, Aimee Robinson, Kristin Johnson).

12/18/2025

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Accessibility Partner Think Outside the Vox are pleased to announce a new addition to the Interpreting Team for : signing for Tiny Tim is 10-year-old Dorothy Sheppard.

Dotty is a student at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse and the North Shore Music Theatre with past stage credits including Seussical and Descendants. She is Beverly School for the Deaf Alumni and currently attends the public school in her hometown. Dorothy would like to thank her family for their support and CSC and Think Outside The Vox for opening the door to the fantastic world of Theatrical Interpreting!

CSC and VOX are thrilled to support Dorothy and include Deaf youth representation in this years’ production. ASL interpreted performances on Saturday December 20th at 7:30 PM and Sunday December 21st at 1:30 PM - select ASL section seats and use promo code ACCESS.

: Blue infographic with logos, text, and a photo of Dorothy Sheppard, a Deaf 10-year-old girl with light skin and brown hair. Top left corner shows Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s 30 years logo and VOX’s logo. In yellow, show title “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.” White text with purple background read, “Beverly School for the Deaf alumni Dorothy Sheppard on the ASL Interpreting team! ASL-interpreted performances Saturday December 20th at 7:30pm, Sunday December 21st at 1:30pm. CommShakes.org/SCROOGE25.”

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12/17/2025

Join us for the last purple-powered performances of 2025! DASL Sabrina Dennison for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
ASL December 20th at 7:30 PM.
AD and ASL December 21st at 1:30 PM - Tactile Tour at 12:30 PM.

Go to https://purchase.emersontheatres.org/EventAvailability?EventId=3601&ref=bookNow&scroll=timeAndDates&_gl=1*l5feft*_gcl_au*NTYxMTc2OTAzLjE3NjU4Mzc4Mjk.*_ga*MTE4MDg2NzE5LjE3NjU4Mzc4Mjk.*_ga_TQ3ZR0V095*czE3NjU5OTAxNjQkbzMkZzAkdDE3NjU5OTAxNjQkajYwJGwwJGgw
Select your performance and seats which are labeled with an orange "S,"
continue to cart, and continue again,
enter promo code ACCESS,
purchase tickets and we'll see you there!

12/16/2025

VOX is rocking NYC! Partners Lincoln Center and Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York are making our hands-on Audio Description mentorship possible. Shoutout to the team at Skeleton Canoe, a story about Indigenous youth on the search for truth, belonging and self-understanding: Afro-Indigenous AD and Mentor Maria Hendricks, AD trainee, Blind QC mentee and A.R.T./New York CCAD cohort member Ashley Hicks, Blind QC Amber Pearcy, and Lincoln Center Accessibility Coordinator Kerry Candeloro.

1: Selfie of AD team members and Skeleton Canoe writer/performer Ty Defoe backstage. From left to right: Ashley Hicks, a Black woman with Albinism with hair in a curly afro wears a black coat and black glasses, smiling. Maria Hendricks, a brown-skinned Afroindigenous woman with curly black hair in a braid and back in a low bun with face framing strands wears a purple Vox sweatshirt and purple backpack. Ty Defoe, a two-spirit Ojibwe and Oneida performance artist, activist, and writer with black hair has a goatee and wears a black beanie, pendant tooth necklace, black and brown tie dye shirt with red lettering on his chest, “tender.”

continued in the comments.