Audio Introductions are used by many theatres to provide blind and partially sighted theatre goers with essential information about a play's setting, costumes, props and characters. Despite their obvious benefits for audience comprehension, engagement and enjoyment, audio introductions are not currently provided by film and television makers although there is nascent interest in adding them. The fellowship will engage theatre professionals, audio describers and BPS people with the creation and promotion of inclusive audio introductions which celebrate actors' diversity. References to actors' or characters' protected characteristics such as race, gender, sexuality, disability and age are not always made in inclusive and equitable ways in audio introductions. Either describers erase markers of diversity by avoiding mention of certain characteristics for fear of 'saying the wrong thing', or they inadvertently use loaded or negative language to describe them. In both cases, the improved inclusion of disabled people in the audience achieved through the provision of audio description is undermined when people on stage are either erased or treated unfairly. Inclusive audio introductions, particularly those created after consultation with actors and the creative team, are a means of improving accessibility, diversity and inclusion for both audience members and members of the theatre company. The Fellowship will disseminate the findings of the report Describing Diversity: An Exploration of the Description of Human Characteristics Within the Practice of Theatre Audio Description which was published by Royal Holloway and VocalEyes in September 2020. The report's findings address the current lack of inclusive audio introductions by presenting a set of 12 recommendations about best practice in inclusive audio description for both audio describers and theatre professionals. These recommendations are designed to promote equality, diversity and inclusion both for people being described (actors and their characters) and for people listening to the descriptions (including but not limited to BPS theatre goers). The fellowship will enable, support and encourage the implementation of these recommendations through a programme of workshops to co-create audio introductions for 10 productions, chosen to include a wide range of protected characteristics; activities to engage diverse theatre audiences with the benefits of inclusive audio description; and the development of training materials and resources about the value of audio introductions both in and beyond theatrical settings. The fellowship will support and enable theatre professionals and audio describers to engage with and explore the research findings in order to promote the creation of inclusive descriptions which celebrate diversity in accessible ways. We will work with casting directors, actors, access professionals, front-of-house teams and producers from 5 producing theatres to promote the benefits of inclusive audio introductions for theatre professionals and audience members. We will enable audio describers to work with theatre professionals on the creation of inclusive audio introductions and we will involve BPS theatre goers and members of the communities depicted in the productions through a process of consultative co-creation. The fellowship aims to promote the value of the inclusive audio introduction as both a communicator and a driver of equality and diversity. As part of its promotion of inclusive audio description, the fellowship will also seek to increase the diversity of audio describers, BPS theatre goers and theatre professionals by engaging under-represented groups with the creation and reception of inclusive audio description. By showcasing the benefits of inclusive audio introductions in the project MOOC, the fellowship will also encourage the wider creative industries, particularly film and television companies, to add audio introductions to their access provision.

I'm Me will work with learning disabled and autistic artists as peer and creative researchers to explore questions of identity, representation and voice. Learning disabled and autistic people are amongst the most marginalised and voice-less within our society. They are often perceived as vulnerable and requiring protection or care, while rarely having a prominent voice within public discourses, even with issues that directly relate to disability. The disability arts are a rare forum where these relationships are challenged, with learning disabled and autistic artists utilising their creativity to assert their agency and identity. I'm Me will be conducted in collaboration with Mind the Gap (MTG) and in partnership with a network of six disability arts companies. Through this network, learning disabled and autistic artists will act as peer and creative researchers, alongside two learning disabled Peer Research Associates. Together we will explore, critique, subvert and reconstitute questions of learning disability identity, representation and voice. We will work through a reflexive methodology based on the 'Creative Doodle Book', a resource that uses open and playful tasks to encourage reflective self-expression. This approach was tested between 2019-21 when the Doodle Book was used extensively with learning disability groups across the UK, developing a resource that enables the exploration of challenging and complex issues, such as identity, in an inclusive manner. Through this approach the perceptions, insights and creative understandings of the peer researchers will be at the heart of both the process and the outcomes. The project has three distinct phases. Phase 1 will create a revised version of the Doodle Book in collaboration with MTG and the Peer Research Network. Alongside this we will work with access champions Totally Inclusive People to co-create a series of three 12-week peer research cycles. Facilitators and artists from each of the partner companies will be trained in the delivery of these resources. Phase 2 will deliver these peer research cycles at each of the partner companies. This process will elicit understandings of how learning disabled and autistic adults view questions of identity and representation, and from this work towards greater understandings of self-advocacy, agency and voice. Through open tasks that elicit multiple ways of expression, the process will develop creative forms of insider testimonies that will include written, spoken, visual and other non-verbal materials. Phase 3 will focus on the production of creative outputs by learning disabled and autistic artists that draw upon the testimonies and insights from across the whole Peer Research Network. The partner companies and the participating artists will be supported by creative producers from MTG to develop their reflective insights into public facing art works and documentations. A learning disability led team will utilise these to construct a book and curate a two-day I'm Me Festival, each designed to communicate the insights and lived experiences from the project. It is anticipated that these will include art works, spoken word, personal narrative, documentary film and live performance. Crucial to this stage will be the involvement of learning disabled and autistic artists in editorial, authorial and curatorial processes and decision making. The outcomes of the project will include: 1) A new model for peer research with learning disabled and autistic participants. 2) Greater understanding of how identity, representation and voice are understood by learning disabled and autistic adults. 3) Impactful, outward-facing materials that shift public perceptions, provide resources for support agencies in training and education, and evidence the value of engaging learning disabled and autistic voices in research, public discourse and policy.