This article looks at conceptualizations of audio description of theatre performances, which commonly are provided in real-time for visually impaired spectators. While audio descriptions can be formally categorized as a type of extra-diegetic paratext, like translators’ notes, they are however quite unique in their performative aspect. The article argues for a new understanding of this type of ‘crossmodal’ translation [Fryer 2016. An introduction to audio description: a practical guide. Oxford: Routledge] in regarding it as an integral part of a performance. Regarding audio description as a multisensory practice results not only in the inquiry into a format, but offers on a more philosophical level, a new perspective on the limits and possibilities of performative aspects of listening in theatre. The article builds on exercises with international dramaturgy students in Amsterdam regarding a dramaturgical take on the making-of audio descriptions (2017) and, as entrance example, on the performance Blind Cinema by Britt Hatzius, which draws creatively on considerations vital to the practice of audio description. Questions emerging from the study and production of audio descriptions revolve around (un)translatability and dramaturgical choices, requiring the author to consider aesthetic, cultural and sensory factors involved in the preparation and performance of audio description.

中文翻译：

---

一只耳朵在舞台上，一只耳朵在观众席？– 作为戏剧练习的音频描述和听戏剧

本文着眼于剧院表演的音频描述的概念化，通常为视障观众实时提供。虽然音频描述可以正式归类为一种额外的叙事副文本，就像译者的笔记一样，但它们在表演方面却非常独特。这篇文章主张对这种类型的“跨模态”翻译有新的理解 [Fryer 2016。音频描述介绍：实用指南。Oxford: Routledge] 将其视为表演的一个组成部分。将音频描述视为一种多感官实践不仅会导致对格式的探究，而且还会在更具哲学性的层面上提供关于戏剧聆听的表演方面的局限性和可能性的新视角。这篇文章建立在与阿姆斯特丹的国际戏剧学生进行的关于制作音频描述的戏剧实践练习（2017 年）以及作为入门示例的 Britt Hatzius 的表演 Blind Cinema 的基础上，该表演创造性地借鉴了对实践的重要考虑因素音频描述。音频描述的研究和制作中出现的问题围绕（非）可译性和戏剧选择，要求作者考虑音频描述的准备和表演中涉及的审美、文化和感官因素。