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Blind Entertainers Survey


This survey is being conducted by the Performing Arts Division (PAD) of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and seeks to define the difficulties facing blind people attempting to break into the performing arts. Your answers to the following questions will help us better serve the special needs of America's blind entertainers. If a particular question does not apply to you, please put N/A.

Who should participate in the survey? Anyone who is blind or has a severe visual impairment who has ever sought to develop their performing arts skills as an amature or professional. This includes musicians, actors, comedians, dancers, broadcasters, sound engineers and the like. Whether or not you are a member of PAD of the NFB, whether or not you have been successful, whether or not you are still pursuing your art, we want to hear your experiences and thoughts.

Privacy policy: None of the personal information you provide in this survey will be conveyed to any third party. Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey.


Section 1, General Information:

1. Name:

2. E mail:

3. Street Address:

4. Phone:

5. Web address:

6. Your age when you began pursuing your performing arts goals:

7. Current Age:

8. Extent of visual limitation at the time you started pursuing your performing arts goals.

9. Extent of visual limitation now:

10. Cause of visual limitation:

11. Your art form (e.g. music, acting etc.)

12. Are you currently pursuing your performing arts goals?

13. Are you supporting yourself either in whole or in part through the performing arts?

14. If you attended a school for the blind, where and what grade level (e.g. elementary, secondary, both), was it a residential program and what training/experience in the performing arts did you have while you were there?
15. If you became visually impaired prior to age 21, list your parents' occupations, if your blindness acurred after 21, please put N/A:
16. Describe how your family, neighborhood or school encouraged/helped you in your development as a performing artist:

Section 2, Education Certification & Awards:


1. What is your highest level of education?

2. If you have a college degree, what was your major?

3. Are you currently pursuing a degree, and if so, what is your major?

4. List any formal degree or certification you hold relating to the performing arts:
5. List any awards, honors or contests you have won:

Section 3, Musicians:


1. What style(s) or genre(s) of music do you perform?

2. Are you a solo act, a member of a group or both?

3. Are you a singer?

4. If you are a songwriter, what genre (s) and has anyone else recorded your songs?
5. If you play any musical instruments, please list them:
6. Have you ever made a demo?

7. If so, describe whether or not you found it helpful in advancing your goals:

8. Have you ever released a recording of your music?

9. If so, list names of recordings, publisher (self- published or name of record label)
10. If you have self-produced a recording, have your sales covered the production costs?

11. If your recordings are available through any third party vendors such as CD Baby, Apple I-Tunes, Border's Books and the like, please list:
12. If your recordings have made any sales charts, please elaborate:
13. Do you do your own booking and/or publicity, or do you have volunteer or paid assistance?
14. What types of venues (coffee house, club, church, school, festival, street or other) have you performed at?
15. If you have an album, has it been played on any radio stations? If so, commercial, public, college, internet.
16. List what you consider to be your biggest gigs.
17. Have you appeared as a guest on any radio/TV shows promoting your art? If so, describe (public, commercial, college, internet.
18. Do you use public transportation?

19. Do you carry your own sound system?


Section 4, Your Experience:



1. How has your visual limitation made your pursuit of your performing arts goals harder?
2. How has it made it easier?
3. How do you manage your inability to drive in terms of what performance opportunities you seek and/or accept? (e.g. hired or volunteer drivers, work within public transportation access or other)
4. When traveling to performmances and promotional opportunities, do you use a white cane, guide dog, sighted guide or other?

5. How do you network with others in the business (social environments such as clubs, workshops, etc., phone calls, e mail, or other)?






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