About Us
As the Audio Description (AD) regulations and commercial industries grow, Audio Description Training Retreats (ADTR) remains committed to giving each participant a strong foundation in all aspects of this service. Providing historical context, disability awareness, and a safe space for discussion and practice is an essential part of all ADTR offerings. ADTR classes begin with the fundamentals and then delve deeper into more specific skill sets involving film, TV, live performances, art, education, and more.
Meet Our Experts
Colleen Connor,
Director
Liz Gutman,
Instructor
Colleen Connor is the co-founder of Audio Description Training Retreats and is based in Los Angeles, CA. Colleen earned a Bachelor’s in Music Theatre from The Catholic University of America and attended The London Dramatic Academy in the UK. As a blind expert in the Audio Description industry, Colleen provides valuable insight and feedback to those training in Audio Description. Their ongoing work and outreach in the AD field include performing Quality Control for several studios, voice narration, teaching the various roles within the scope of description, and cultivating a network of diverse professionals. Guided by their Seeing Eye Dog Joplin, Colleen advocates for equity and equality wherever they go!
Liz Gutman is an Audio Description writer and narrator based in Brooklyn. She graduated from NYU Tisch with a major in acting and a minor in creative writing. After college, she co-founded and ran her own food company for 9 years before returning to her roots as a writer and performer. Liz has written award-winning description for over 500 hours of features and series, and has voiced over 175 hours of AD. She has experience spanning the entire process of AD creation, including script and mix quality control, writer training, and directing VO and pickup sessions. Liz is always looking to improve her own craft, and to help push the industry forward by staying plugged into the AD community’s wants and needs. She has incorporated feedback from AD patrons to push for improvements in company style guides, requiring their AD to include more and better descriptions of skin color, hair texture, and explicit material.
Melissa Hope,
Instructor
Melissa Hope fell in love with audio description when a retinal detachment treatment led to her having to lie on her side with her eyes closed for 5 days. Ever since, she's been an avid consumer and creator of AD. She has worked for several years in client services and project management for an AD studio in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she also helps with quality control and writer recruitment. She is actively involved in propelling the industry forward with a focus on quality, diversity, and inclusion. Melissa is passionate about excellence in AD, and believes representation matters.
Louise Victor,
Instructor
Louise Victor is the coordinator of the View Via Voice Audio Describers, a division of the Sight-Loss Support Group of Central Pennsylvania, which has been covering musicals, plays, art gallery tours, and more since 1999. Louise is an active audio describer who started describing in 2017 and became the coordinator in 2019. After receiving her BS and MS degrees in music education from The Pennsylvania State University, she spent 26 years teaching music at various levels at Penn State and area schools. Prior to retiring, she served ten years as a High School Fine Arts Department Head, conducting choirs, orchestras, musicals, and Special Education music classes. She always had a desire to help those with vision loss after observing the challenges that her own aunt faced. After attending the Level 1 and Level 2 ADTR classes, she was certain she made the right choice to become an audio describer and to recruit and train others. Louise loves the work the team does and aspires to continue the tradition of making the arts more accessible.
Bridget Melton,
Moderator
Bridget Melton is an award winning audio describer, most recently for her narration work on Steppenwolf Theatre’s “Duchess! Duchess! Duchess!” (SOVAS) and for her work live extemporaneously describing the 2021 Presidential Inauguration (Vernon Henley Media Award). Her description work runs the gamut from virtual and live events to theatrical performances, to recorded media as a writer, narrator, or both. Her screen work can be found on streaming services such as Disney+ and HBO Max, and she spent three years as the main describer for “Hamilton” during its Chicago residency. Active in the cultural accessibility community for many years, she works to create a welcoming environment for all. Around the United States, and virtually, she can be found at various theatres promoting inclusion as an audio describer, advisor, or volunteer. She holds a BFA in Theatre Studies from SMU Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas, TX.
Adrienne Livingston,
Consultant
Adrienne Livingston is a voiceover artist based in Portland, Oregon. In 2022 she learned about audio description and quickly became passionate for the accessibility of entertainment for blind and low vision communities. She provides audio description for live theatre shows and is loving it! She wants the industry to be more diverse and inclusive and has made it a personal mission to introduce diverse communities to the voiceover and audio description industries. Representation matters in all aspects.
Susannah Mars,
Consultant
Susannah Mars is a lifelong performing artist living in the Pacific Northwest. She has appeared in over one hundred productions and concerts all over the world. A member of The Committee for Audio Description in the Arts (CADA) in Portland, she’s been writing and describing live theatre in Portland, Oregon, and beyond. As an actress and singer, she is especially interested in innovative description including events like touch tours that engage patrons and artists at the heart level. Access-centered community is something that she is passionate about. Susannah has also been an Arts Ambassador to Egypt partnering with the U.S. State Department and is currently serving on the Portland Center Stage Board of Directors. Currently, she is working on a short animated and audio-described documentary film about grief entitled “Mourning Has Broken,” and completing a run of Matilda as the terrifying Miss Trunchbull for which she wrote the audio-described trailer and conducted a touch tour.
Roy Samuelson,
Audio Description and Voice Talent Coach
Roy Samuelson is a world-renowned voiceover artist whose work has been heard by billions of people around the world. A longstanding member of the Television Academy, Roy has decades of experience in the voiceover industry, and has recorded thousands of audio description projects for national network episodes, well-known streaming series, and blockbuster films. Roy is also a consultant and advocate for quality and excellence in audio description, and is the founder of the Audio Description Network Alliance (ADNA), a non-profit organization that advocates for the advancement of AD. Roy believes that AD should be inclusive of blind professionals, as his allyship continues his work to increase parity between disabled members of the audience.
Jan Vulgaropulos,
Co-Founder
Jan Vulgaropulos is the co-founder of Audio Description Training Retreats. As of January 2022, Jan has retired as Executive Director, but will remain a consultant and will always be an integral figure in the development of quality description. Jan innovated all aspects of ADTR including collaborating with Colleen as a business and teaching partner, rather than just a blind consultant. Sharing her warmth and advice to each individual student set a precedent that Colleen immediately understood and continues. In addition to training, Jan provided AD of live theatre and movies in the Raleigh-Durham area for over 14 years. She also has experience in editing and writing AD scripts for film, through Serafino Sound Studio. Jan graduated from Tufts University with a BS degree in Mental Health. She lives with her husband Spyro (our part-time chef during retreats) in North Carolina, and is currently embracing her role as a grandmother! Jan looks forward to where description is headed and is hopeful for the future of access and inclusion.
Our Story
Audio Description Training Retreats (ADTR) is a unique and high-quality education model that was developed by Jan Vulgaropulos and Colleen Connor in 2015. ADTR focuses on training participants in all aspects of Audio Description (AD) from the ground up. Description is both an art and a science, and there are many facets to it. Jan and Colleen bonded over what they saw lacking in their own experiences learning about AD in the US, and decided to create something new.
ADTR was born out of a desire for individuals to not only learn the history of AD, but to find a logical way to approach their descriptions with plenty of time to practice right away, to learn where their strengths are, network with each other, and interact with someone who is blind. An emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy for the AD profession and its audience is an additional core value.
ADTR trainings started out as 4-night small group retreats in North Carolina’s natural settings, with lodging and meals provided so that all participants could learn about AD while living together. This provided a retreat from everyday life so that students could focus on the new information and have breaks throughout the days to network, practice, and rest. In 2020, they moved into the virtual space. Utilizing a Zoom conference format, ADTR began teaching its classes online, and has added almost every continent to its student roster. Although the in-person retreats are greatly missed, a huge effort is made in constructing trainings with an emphasis on work-life balance and accessible design including affordability.
As of 2022, Jan has retired from being the lead instructor, and Colleen has become the Director of ADTR. Colleen is developing new curriculum elements, realizing long-awaited ideas, and collaborating with former grads to teach! ADTR participants can expect to be warmly welcomed with a rigorous amount of information, individualized attention from instructors, and lots of practice with peers from the comfort of their home.