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			Arts Accessibility Solutions is headed by William V. Patterson who has more than 25 years experience in the field of arts accessibility as a theatre manager, producer, director, professor, consultant, trainer and audio describer. Patterson began producing and directing plays about disability issues with actors with disabilities and non-disabled actors in 1979 at the University of Maryland, College Park. He later produced similar works in Atlanta, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the Very Special Arts Henry Fonda Young Playwright's Project, and at Gallaudet University. He created the first audio description service for live theatre performances on a college campus at the University of Maryland in 1983. The National Endowment for the Arts Office for Special Constituencies (now the Office for AccessAbility) recognized the theatre production program he managed as a mode of programming and service for people with disabilities in 1984. In the metropolitan Washington, DC area, he consulted on the presentation of sign interpreted performances at the National Theatre, Olney Theatre Center for the Performing Arts, and the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission and served as a member of the Deaf Access Committee at Arena Stage. He was a charter member of the Steering Committee of the Cultural Access Network, sponsored by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington. At the University of Maryland, Patterson chaired the President's Commission on Disability Issues and edited and designed the first edition of the University's Reasonable Accommodations: A Guide to Teaching College Students with Disabilities. He developed and taught "Arts Accessibility for People with Disabilities," the first 3-credit course at any college or university to address the subject. Patterson has contributed to the field of arts accessibility as a presenter and/or organizer for numerous panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, United States Institute for Theatre Technology, National Association for Campus Activities, Maryland State Arts Council, Box Office Management International, American Theatre Association, and the Association for Theatre and Disability. Patterson edited Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator's Handbook, produced through an interagency agreement between the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and through an NEA cooperative agreement with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which was released in June 2003. He recently worked with the staff of the Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, PA to develop plans for programmatic access for people with disabilities as part of the 80-year-old facility's restoration and reopening. (www.gettysburgmajestic.com) Audio Description Solutions In the field of audio description, Patterson has written and narrated description soundtracks for PBS American Playhouse productions as part of the nationally broadcast pilot of WGBH's Descriptive Video Service (DVS®), for numerous films and videos for the National Park Service, other government agencies, and production companies. His significant audio description work with museums and exhibits includes writing the random access audio descriptions of exhibits at the Cultural Heritage Center, the Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society, serving as a major writer for random access audio descriptions of exhibits at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center in Connecticut and writing and narrating audio description cassette tours of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. He has trained audio describers and presented audio description workshops in communities across the United States. His company, Audio Description Solutions (www.AudioDescriptionSolutions.com) is also based in New Oxford, PA. After 31 years as a faculty member in higher education, Patterson retired from the University of Maryland, College Park, in January 2004. While at Maryland, he taught theatre management courses and directed the university's MFA program in Theatre Management. Arts Accessibility Solutions 717.624.4860 • 717.624.4490 fax 110 Lincoln Way West New Oxford, PA 17350-1314 Click to send an e-mail inquiry: info@ArtsAccessibilitySolutions.com
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