But for audience members with hearing loss, it can be hard to pick up sound, especially in a theater-in-the-round when actors may face different directions. Words can disappear.
This year, that's going to change.

A recent $21,000 gift, the largest in the company's history, directed the company to buy a sound system that amplifies lines and lyrics and broadcasts through hearing aids.

"This is the most significant improvement to the production of our shows since the Boal Barn started," said Mike Twomley, a company board member directing the sound system committee.

With the "induction loop system," miked actors will broadcast through an amplifier linked to a cable running around the circular seating area. Electrical current through the cable will create a magnetic field.

During performances, anyone inside the field with a hearing aid can turn on their telecoil switch -- meant for telephone conversations -- and receive crystal-clear sound.

In 2004, the University Baptist and Brethren Church in State College installed a similar system -- reportedly the first in the area -- so that its hearing-impaired worshippers could enjoy services more. Previously, one woman, tired of straining to understand sermons, had stopped attending.

Judith Albrecht, a State College audiologist, understands. One of her clients, a longtime theater enthusiast, no longer goes to performances at the Boal Barn because of difficulties hearing.

Albrecht hopes the new sound system will bring her and other hearing-impaired people back to the theater. They won't have to wear conspicuous headsets, as with systems that use FM frequency signals, and their hearing aids will fine-tune sound to individual hearing levels.

Albrecht has more than a professional interest. Her daughter, Erin Albrecht, is a State College Community Theatre stage manager, and the gift for the sound system came from her aunt, Illinois resident Grace Albrecht, a lifelong supporter of education and the arts.

"It's a community theater," Judith Albrecht said. "All of us, starting with my aunt, have tried to make the community we live in a little better."

State College resident Richard Gidez, a former company board member and producer, isn't sure whether the sound system will be an improvement.

"The playhouse is very small," he said. "My concern is amplification in general. It sometimes can knock you out of your seat."

But Twomley said the system, using digital signal processors, will tailor volume to each of the Boal Barn's four distinct seating sections. Sound can be tweaked for one area without affecting others.

More than Boal Barn patrons might benefit from the system. As stipulated by the gift, other organizations will be able to rent the equipment, and local drama students will be invited to learn about designing sound for productions.

"They'll be able to do that now," Twomley said. "They didn't have a way to do that before."

By Chris Rosenblum
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/14140039.htm