People

Will McRostie – Lead Describer

Will has been involved in theatre since the age of seven, when he hit the boards in the Hills Youth Theatre’s production of Anne of Green Gables. Ever since, he’s been obsessed with the arts and how participation in creative practice creates better lives.

Will trained in audio description in 2013 with Access2Arts in South Australia, going on to work with most of the state’s arts institutions. Will has also worked in administrative and production roles with Access2Arts, Regional Arts Victoria, Melbourne Theatre Company, Creative Partnerships Australia, Freerange Future, and the Adelaide Festival Centre. Will holds a Certificate II in Auslan, and is in his final year at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in their Cultural Leadership MFA program.

Will is an active contributor to the development of Australia’s artistic and cultural life who has convened and facilitated conversations for the inaugural Creative State Summit, Melbourne Fringe, Australian Theatre Forum, Victorian Touring Workshop, Malthouse Theatre, Digital Writers Festival and Adelaide Festival of Ideas among others. Will is an alum of the 2018 Australia Council for the Arts Future Leaders Program, was a recipient of 2018 Ian Potter Cultural Trust and Australia Council career development grants supporting a research trip to the UK and Spain, and was part of the 2019 Australia Council delegation to the IETM Spring Plenary in Hull (UK).

In 2019 & 2020, Will expanded his creative and consultation practice, contributing to creative developments for Raspberry Ripple Theatre Company and Romi Kupfer, developing an access consultation process for the CultureLab development program at Arts House, and co-leading a technique development for dance access strategies with Blindful. Will has also worked as a creative consultant for projects with artists Kate Hood for Take Over at Arts Centre Melbourne and Jonathan Homsey for West Projections festival.

With a personal interest in art, ambition, and radical inclusivity, Will sees audio description as a practical means of outreach for the arts, and a way to empower the participation of a marginalised group in creative practice as both audience and artist.

Describers

Interested in becoming a describer? You can fill out our rolling training EOI here and we’ll be in touch when the next opportunity comes around.

Our Board

Description Victoria is governed by a Board, a majority of whom have a lived experience of Blindness or low vision. Members of this group also collaborate on the process of creating descriptions and accessible experiences. Current members include: