The Disability Collective

Are you familiar with the visuals of a Burlesque Bump? How about a Fan Dance? Do you know what a Tassel Twirl looks like? Well, do you want to?!

In anticipation of CRIPtonite 2025, Toronto’s radical Deaf and disability-led drag and burlesque show, The Disability Collective has put together this helpful (and sassy!) Audio Description Primer. Have a listen, then pick up your ticket and join us at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre on June 25th, 2025.

Catch you there!

For more information about The Disability Collective, or to learn about other upcoming events, please visit TheDisabilityCollective.com.

On Wednesday June 25th at 8pm, The Disability Collective will blow the top off of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre with CRIPtonite, a fierce, radical, Deaf and disability-led drag and burlesque show!

Collective regulars Christine Malec and JJ Hunt have gotten the tap to provide Audio Description for the event. They are raring to go, but first... they have questions! To help set them on the right path (marked by a trail of discarded clothing, one might imagine), singer, actor, firebreather, and Burlesque dancer Ivory joins the Description Duo for a wild, outrageous, and unabashedly informative conversation. 

For more information about The Disability Collective, or to learn about other upcoming events, please visit TheDisabilityCollective.com.

On Thursday, February 20th at 8pm, a gaggle of the hottest disabled comedians in Toronto will storm The Theatre Centre stage for The Disability Collective's 2025 iteration of Sit Down Comedy Show!

In this episode, host JJ Hunt describes the visuals of stand up comedy, the old fashioned good looks of the historic Theatre Centre, and the performance styles of the comedians on the bill. Later, JJ is joined by friend and colleague Christine Malec, who has some questions about stand up from a Blindness perspective. 

For information about the show, including comedian bios, access and venue guides, and links to tickets, please visit www.thedisabilitycollective.com/sitdowncomedyshow2025.

To be in touch about  Sit Down Comedy Show, or any other Disability Collective event or initiative, please email Ali Hand: [email protected].

For more information about The Disability Collective, or to learn about other upcoming events, please visit TheDisabilityCollective.com.

Market day is finally here! In this festive episode, Christine Malec and JJ Hunt capture the sounds and describe the sights inside The Disability Holiday Market at Toronto's Wychwood Barns. 

After a quick chat with The Disability Collective's power squad, Emily, Nathan, and Ali, JJ heads off to lead a described walking tour of the Barns, and explore the market with a group of Blind and Low Vision shoppers. Then Christine checks in with Alexa Hickox of Undivided Productions, a Deaf vendor selling artist-designed shirts and sweaters.

Happy Holidays from everyone at The Disability Collective! See you in 2025!

For more information about The Disability Collective, or to learn about other upcoming events, please visit TheDisabilityCollective.com.

Are you ready to go shopping? Our annual Disability Holiday Market featuring work by disabled artists is on December 8th at Toronto's Wychwood Barns, and we want to make sure you have everything you need for a fun and festive market day!

In this episode, accessibility consultant Christine Malec teams up with describer JJ Hunt to provide a primer on all the market details. Pour yourself a cup of cocoa and settle in by the fire as the pair describes the market layout and the artists' wares, and breaks down the support and accessibility offerings provided to guests and vendors.

For more information, including access and venue guides, please visit www.thedisabilitycollective.com/holidaymarket2024.

To book a sighted guide, or to reserve a spot on JJ's described tour of the market, please email [email protected]. 

Hope to see you at Wychwood Barns, December 8th, 2024 from 11 AM to 5 PM!

For more information about The Disability Collective, or to learn about other upcoming events, please visit TheDisabilityCollective.com.

In this episode, Audio Describer JJ Hunt provides pre-show notes to AD users attending the Disability Collective's 2024 presentation of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Listen in as JJ describes the overall look of the film, the characters, and the sets, as well as the Collective's all-Deaf shadow cast, and the visuals of Performance ASL. All capped off with a step-by-step guide to the Time Warp!

The Disability Collective's production of the RHPS was staged at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre as part of the Toronto Fringe's Next Stage Theatre Festival, on October 27th, 2024. Directed by Gaitrie Persaud-Killings.

For more information about The Disability Collective, or to learn about other upcoming events, please visit TheDisabilityCollective.com.

Join Describer JJ Hunt for this Rocky Horror Picture Show Audio Description primer! In this episode, JJ breaks down the visuals of the RHPS, describing the costumes, the characters, the sets, and the overall look of the world's most famous cult film. Then, he wraps things up with a no-fail, step-by-step guide to the Time Warp!

The material in this episode was originally created for the Disability Collective's 2024 production of the RHPS, as part of the Toronto Fringe's Next Stage Theatre Festival, presented at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. To hear the complete, prerecorded preshow notes as delivered to audio description users, including descriptions of the Disability Collective's all-Deaf shadow cast, and the visuals of Performance ASL, check out episode 2!

For more information about The Disability Collective, or to learn about other upcoming events, please visit TheDisabilityCollective.com.