On Thursday, November 12, at 7:30pm ET, the ADP will broadcast the sixth Audio Description Awards Gala on ACB Media, YouTube, and Peacock. This pre-recorded awards show honors organizations and people who create and distribute outstanding AD. As always, there will be celebrity guests, happy award recipients, and the announcement of the AD People's Choice winners.
Guiding us through all the excitement will be our hosts, Marilee Talkington and Ben Mehl. Marilee and Ben are both experienced actors and educators who are committed to making the arts more accessible.
Ben played Dante Ferguson on Netflix’sYou and starred in Hallmark’s My Christmas Guide, bringing his lived experience with vision loss to both characters. He earned an MFA in Acting from New York University. He's taught and directed in the Graduate Acting Program at NYU and other acting schools throughout New York. Currently, he serves as Head of Movement for the Acting for Film program at New York Film Academy.
Marilee, who will be hosting the Awards Gala for the third time, is an actor, writer, creator, and disability advocate. Her career spans Broadway, film, television, motion capture, and voiceover. She originated the role of Morgan Le Fey in Aaron Sorkin’s Camelot on Broadway, and her screen credits include Apple TV+’s SEE and Extrapolations, NBC’s New Amsterdam, and the Lionsgate/Miramax film The Home. She also founded Access Acting Academy (AC3), the first professional acting studio built specifically for blind and low-vision performers.
Learn more about Marilee and Ben on the Awards Gala website, and don't miss the Awards Gala on November 12!