Hi, I’m Stewart Caswell.

Over the past couple of years, I have had a close working relationship as the resident captioner for Deaf Broadway, an extraordinary theatre company whose goal is to give Deaf audiences unprecedented access to iconic works in musical theatre.

Deaf Broadway is fortunate enough to have been invited to perform Jonathan Larson’s RENT during Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series, and once again I am thrilled to be doing the captions. This time with just the Original Broadway Cast Recording, and nothing else, which has allowed me to take the captions to an even higher level. I’m getting so advanced with these captions and am doing so much with them, I am really starting to consider making captioning projects like this my career.

But I need your help. I have moderate cerebral palsy and use a mobility scooter to get around and as such, crashing on a friend’s couch is out of the question. Either they have no space to accommodate my scooter and me, or, if they do have the space there are numerous stairs going into their building, because New York City. So, the only option for me is to stay in a hotel, which for the area that I need to stay in to be close to the rehearsal hall, means I have to pay close to $230 per night, which adds up quickly.

Here is where you come in: Deaf Broadway is paying me for my services. However, all of that money will go for my hotel room and food and Ubers and I’d break even. My primary income is Social Security and most of that money goes to my mortgage and other things necessary to keep a roof over my head, not leaving me much to pay for extra things. My goal with my Deaf Broadway money is to create my own website to market myself to other theatre companies who need captioning services and to take some motion graphics courses to improve and streamline my process. And I cannot do any of the above if most of my money is going towards hotel, food and transportation costs.

My goal is to raise $2,500. This will cover all of my expenses and allow me some money for emergencies if they arise. This would be a huge load off my shoulders if I knew these necessities were taken care of, and allow me to put the money I make with this job into marketing myself and growing a business.

Any amount you can contribute to this cause would be greatly appreciated.