Actors' Voices Help the Blind Keep 'InTouch'

Since 1974, more than a million households across America, parts of Canada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have stayed current with their favorite newspapers and magazines—all without reading a word.

The InTouch national radio reading service (provided by The Jewish Guild for the Blind) serves the blind, visually impaired, and multihandicapped by broadcasting articles from newspapers and periodicals 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The hour-long shows are picked up by special transmitters provided by the not-for-profit corporation, the only service of its kind with a national scope.

Both The Jewish Guild for the Blind and InTouch's recording studios are located in New York City. Actors make up a large part of the service's corps of over 100 volunteer readers, and many find that the program is one that benefits both the readers and their listeners. Back Stage spoke with three New York actors who have given their time to the program.

Actress Judy Unger, who has volunteered as a reader for about a year, candidly calls her experience with InTouch "the most selfish and wonderful thing." This is because the on-air reading time provides actors with a constant working environment in which to brush up their cold reading skills and do recordings.

Unger, a voice-over, radio, and jingle artist, enjoys using her Sunday morning "Travel Hour" to experiment with her voice, trying to create levels different from the "young" characters she usually plays.

However, aside from the professional benefits of such an opportunity to practice her craft, Unger states, "Some people keep [the radio] on 24 hours a day, just for company…It's a means of communication for them. It's amazing to be a part of that. It's a positive experience, both as an actor and as a human being. You're making an impact, however small—that's why people do it."

Charles McCown, a 15-year volunteer and a classical singer formerly active in films, does it not only because it is a "fulfilling experience," but also because he enjoys reading and loves literature. However, not just anyone is fit to be on the air. As he puts it, he is one of those people who has "a proclivity to articulate language," and recommends volunteering to others who share this sentiment.

"Even Bloomberg isn't as articulate anymore…dropping g's…it's the whole macho idea, the cowboy, the typically American anti-intellectualism," he says, emphasizing an actor's need to be able to simply read well.

McCown, who does a live broadcast of Barron's, like Unger sees that radio work can be beneficial to an actor's work in other media.

"Since you don't have much time [to prepare your material] in advance, the great benefit is that