RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf is helping test and research new technology that would open up accessibility to the theater.

It’s something the school has a long history with; using actors who sign, closed captioning on a screen, and interpreters for those who can hear.

But now they’re adding special glasses developed by Vuzix Corp to the mix.

The technology flashes text across the lens which can be synced with the closed captioning so audience members don’t have to keep looking back and forth.

“Remembering growing up, I was never able to go to movies or real-life theater because they didn’t have captions all the time," RIT junior Taylor Anderson, who is helping work on the tech, said. "But with this technology now, in a few years it’s improved greatly.”

Dial ‘M’ for Murder is only the second NTID theater production that is testing the technology, and afterward users can give feedback on the device.

“If we succeed in our small production here, that collaborative process can ripple out to be even a global teaching experiment,” Director and NTID Lecturer Luane Davis Haggerty said.

For those interested in seeing the production, or testing the glasses out, Dial ‘M’ for Murder is showing this Friday at 7 p.m., two shows Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and a final show on Sunday at 2 p.m. The show is free, but reservations are encouraged.